Demotion
by Kathryn M.B. Denson
Summary: Ch. 14 up! The beads on Inuyasha's neck snap, and Kagome is forced to follow his orders. When Kikyo gets thrown in the mix, Inuyasha's a jerk, and Kagome gets new powers, everything goes from terribly wrong to even worse.
1. Power Switch

Disclaimer:  I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters, but this is my idea, so please ask before putting it on your website or taking it away (though, if the fanfic is different from my own, I can do little to nothing to stop it).  Okay, scratch that idea…I'm not getting paid for this, I just got really bored one day and started playing with ideas in my mind.  Okay?  Okay.  REVIEW, PLEASE!

Chapter One

Power Switch

Inuyasha walked in front of the group, his arms folded over his chest, glaring ahead and speaking to nobody.  It just wasn't fair.  After all, it wasn't _his_ fault that the Shikon no Tama shattered—that was Kagome's doing.

And it had been two years—two years, for goodness's sake!—since he and Kagome started looking for the jewel's scattered shards, and they _still_ didn't have all of them.  It had helped little when she made him help take care of Shippo, who was too young to do much damage in a battle, and pretty much useless otherwise, too.  When Sango and Miroku joined them, it had helped, but sometimes the two other humans had problems that set them off-track.

He fought back a growl as he thought about it, but couldn't suppress the flattening of his dog-like ears.  And if _anyone_ in the group side-tracked them, it was Kagome herself.  Not only was it all her fault to begin with, but she was always having to go back to her time through the well to take her tests and go to school.  

Personally, he didn't see what a girl needed an education for.  And she could do a lot more in this time working as a priestess—like Kikyo.  She could even get a little better at using a bow and arrow—though, he begrudgingly admitted that she was a lot better than she had been before at it, when she couldn't shoot down the bird-demon.

But Inuyasha couldn't even make her stay and help them, because whenever he tried, she said that word—that HUMILIATING command—"sit."  First off, it was a command he'd seen most humans give to dogs.  He was sure she'd used that word because he was a dog-demon, but that wasn't the same thing.  He didn't go wagging his tail, begging to his master.  In fact, he didn't NEED a master, but Kagome was his superior.  Inuyasha didn't work well underneath somebody else.  It just wasn't befitting to him.

"Something wrong?" he heard Kagome ask, a worried tone to her voice.

"Feh," he grumbled. "Nothing."  _Just you_, he added silently, but knew the comment would spark the word of his collapse—a collapse, that is, into the ground with a mouthful of mud.  He then looked up at the sky.  It was dark, and he was sure the humans were all tired, and Shippo, too.  He looked back at Kagome and saw that Shippo was already asleep in the basket of her "bicycle."  

He turned back to the front and stopped as he reached the clearing.  "We'll camp here."

Inuyasha immediately seated himself on a thick tree branch, stretching out and relaxing a bit.  Sango and Kagome were starting supper—Chinese ramen noodles.  The smell of the food drifted to where Inuyasha was sitting.  He allowed himself to relax and think a little bit.

Of course, then he thought about Kikyo.  They hadn't heard from her in a long time.  He closed his eyes and smelt the air.  For a moment, he let himself think that it was her he smelled, but it was Kagome.  Kagome also smelled like the lavender-perfumed soap and shampoo she was always using, so she smelled a little bit sweeter than Kikyo.

Again, he felt torn between the two women.  He already loved Kikyo, and she had loved him back—up until when she thought he'd betrayed her.  He had feelings for Kagome as well, though she sometimes annoyed him beyond what he had thought possible, but he was sure she had some guy in the future to turn to.  Truthfully, the thought infuriated him.  When she said she had tests, was she really wasting time with one of those human weaklings?

He saw Kagome wake Shippo up to eat.  Inuyasha also jumped down from the tree.  He ate the ramen noodles without talking, though the other four were carrying on a conversation.

"…computers?  What do they do?" Sango asked, clearly mystified.

"Well," Kagome said slowly. "Computers are like these…boxes, I guess you could say.  They use electricity to power them, and they do a lot of the work for you."

"Like what?" Shippo asked curiously, leaning forward.

"You don't have to write long reports by hand because you can just type them on this thing called a keyboard and it'll print it out on a piece of paper."

"Doesn't that make people lose their jobs?"

"No, because then there are people that have to make the computers.  You can also play games on them."

"Lady Kagome, the inventions from your time are truly amazing."

Kagome glared threateningly at Miroku.  "Could you please remove your hand?!"

Miroku moved his hand off of her rear, eating silently while he not notice Inuyasha's glares.

After dinner, as was the usual schedule, they went directly to bed.  Kagome, Miroku, and Sango rolled out futons for themselves, little Shippo slept in the same bag as Kagome, and Inuyasha contented himself with the tree branch.  The half-demon let himself fall into a slumber…

***

In the middle of the night, Inuyasha's ears perked up at a slight sound.  He looked up and noticed Kagome was missing.  Of course, he was irritated.  What was that human doing wandering around at this time of night?

Sure not to make a sound even loud enough for his own sensitive ears to hear, he followed after her scent.  She wasn't far off.  In a couple of seconds, he saw her by the river, taking her shoes and socks off and putting her feet in the water.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes.  He got closer and closer until he was right behind her.  He saw his reflection in the water just behind hers, and she did, too, looking startled.  "And just WHAT do you think you're doing?" he demanded as she started to turn around.

Kagome still looked surprised.  "I…I was going to take a bath."

"What _is_ it with you and baths?" he groaned. "You just _had_ one yesterday, for cryin' out loud!"

"I happen to like to be clean, thank you very much."

"Feh.  You're clean enough."

"Maybe if I take enough baths," she threw back, "I won't smell so terrible!"

_You don't smell terrible, you smell good—I _lied_ about that,_ he thought, but glared.  "Believe me, it doesn't help!" he said, motioning to the shampoo and bar soap. "And if that was your motivation, you might not have bothered at all!"

"Don't flatter yourself, Inuyasha, _that_ wasn't my motivation—it was just persuasion!"  She glared at him.  "You're so difficult sometimes, you know?"

"Yeah, I know, but I'm especially difficult for you," he retorted. "After all, Kikyo was never this stupid."

Kagome's eyes widened, then her face grew angry like it always did whenever he started comparing her to her previous incarnate.  She opened her mouth to say the magic word.

Before sound came out of her mouth, Inuyasha held a hand over it, preventing her from speaking.  "What is it, can't deal with any problems without making me 'sit?'  Kikyo could.  She always knew how to talk to me.  And she wouldn't have been running back to the future all the time to take these stupid tests—she'd have stuck to her duty!"

Kagome bit his hand and he drew it back from her mouth.  "In case you haven't noticed, I'M NOT KIKYO!"

"Isn't that what I've been sayin' all this time?" he growled. "Honestly, Kagome, you're so slow."

"Why do you care?" Kagome snapped. "Kikyo's just walking dead—she's not even the same person she was before, so SHE IS DEAD."

"SHE'S NOT DEAD!" Inuyasha shouted, his amber-yellow eyes glowing with anger. "I hugged her, I felt her warmth—she's alive!"

Kagome turned around, preparing to walk the other way.  "I'm not even going to continue this."

"Hey!  Hey, where are you going?!  Hey, I'm not finished yet!"  Inuyasha grabbed her arm, pinning her in place as he hissed in her ear, "If you want to find the rest of the Shikon jewel shards at all, stop going back to your time."

"Let go of me!" Kagome yelled.

"Gladly!"  He pushed her forward.  Kagome stumbled and Inuyasha saw everything go in slow motion.

He hadn't intended for her to lose her balance.  In an effort to keep from falling into the cold water, Kagome grabbed onto Inuyasha, or more precisely, onto the prayer beads around his neck that controlled him.  A loud snapping noise sounded, and the next thing Kagome knew, she was in the water, shivering.  Inuyasha was still standing there, staring at her in shock, then he looked down at the ground.  Kagome followed his gaze, then gasped.

The prayer beads, broken and useless, lay on the ground near Inuyasha's feet.  Kagome no longer had any control over him.  Just the thought scared her, even though she knew he wouldn't kill her since he needed her abilities.

But still, the corners of Inuyasha's mouth quirked up, spreading into a slow grin.  He jumped on the edge of the grass and leaned forward so his face was directly in front of Kagome's.  "You're not going home again," he whispered, softly but threateningly. "Not until we find the rest of the jewel shards."

Kagome's gray eyes widened, her mouth open in shock at what had just transpired.  But it was obvious to her that she wouldn't see her family or friends for a very long time.  She just looked down, away from the half-demon who was now HER master.

Good?  Bad?  TELL ME, PLEASE!  Again, if I haven't mentioned it before, my e-mail address is Cats4me223@aol.com.  But that's only if you even do really care to send me any comments/compliments/criticism.  Thanks!

Kat Yuy


	2. Humiliating Defeat

Chapter Two

Humiliating Defeat

Author's Note:  OMG, I never thought I'd get that many reviews.  Thanks for reviewing, everyone!  And just so you know, I will TRY to add in some humor (just to lighten the mood a little bit).  And though I also don't care for Kikyo very much, she will play a big part in this fic.  Don't worry, don't worry, she won't steal Inuyasha—not exactly.  But I don't wanna give everything away.  Read and review more, please!  Thanks again!

Finally, Kagome managed to speak.  "I-Inu…yasha…you can't—"

"Can't what?" he challenged, still grinning in triumph.  He made a point of lifting his hands up to show the pointed claws and baring his sharp, glistening fangs.  Kagome shivered, realizing he could easily kill her the way he'd wanted to the first day they met.  "Now," he commanded. "Now, _you_ sit down, Kagome."  He pointed to a log and she obediently sat on it, preparing for the worst.  He hesitated, almost as if unsure of what to do next with his new freedom.  "Well, since you can't make me sit anymore…"

Inuyasha paced back and forth in front of her, thinking.  Finally, he turned to face her.  He held up one finger, counting off as he spoke.  "First off, as I said before, you can't go back to your time until the rest of the jewel is found.  You cannot slap or punch me under any circumstances, or bring any bodily harm to me.  When I say to do something, you'd better damn well do it.  No more helping villagers unless we get a jewel shard out of it or I say so, and you'd better not beg me to.  You cannot insult me at any time, unless you want a punishment.  And NO MORE of your stupid 'friendships' with people who can't help us—they get in the way of everything."  He smirked.  "Got all that, wench?"  She didn't answer.  "GOT IT?!"

"Yes!  I've got it!" she snapped, squeezing her eyes tightly shut and looking away from his face.  Her hopes and dreams of a life with Inuyasha shattered.  How could she have been so stupid?  Of course he'd only been as nice to her as he had to keep from being "sat."

"Good.  Glad we agree, then," he said, still looking smug. "You won't be helping us any if you don't get some sleep.  So get back to bed.  You can take a bath some other time.  At the moment, your smell isn't so bad…or maybe that's just that I've gotten used to it."  He watched on in satisfaction as Kagome turned several shades of red, ranging from claret to scarlet to crimson.

Kagome seethed.  How dare he insult her like that!  But she couldn't do anything about it.  So she stood there, resisting the urge to slap him (especially now that it was forbidden).  She could only hope that in the dark, he couldn't see her face was getting warm.  But the smug look on his face was too much to bear, so she turned around.  "Fine."  She walked away from him, slinging her backpack over her back.  She needed to change her clothes since the ones she was wearing were sopping wet.

Inuyasha watched her until she was out of sight, then looked back at the prayer beads that had restrained his freedom before.  "Feh."  He frowned, remembering the defeated look on Kagome's face.  Had he hurt her?  That really hadn't been his intention…or had it?  He thought back on all the times she'd humiliated him by making him eat dirt.  He hadn't been used to being someone's inferior.  So now that she'd lost her power over him, he realized, he wanted his revenge on her for all of his suffering.

He leaned back against the rock, thinking some more.  Before he met Kikyo, when he had no friends, he used to think a lot about everything, but he hadn't thought quite this hard in a while.  Maybe it wasn't just that Kagome had disgraced him…maybe it was that he wanted to look strong to her, to be the one she dreamed about, the one she knew could save her.  He blinked, shaking his head as if to clear it.  _No…  _He felt himself in denial.

_NO!_  He loved Kikyo, not that scrawny weakling brat from the future!  _Kikyo…_  Wait, what was that…?

He sniffed the air.  "Kikyo?"  He turned back to the river and saw Kikyo, not Kagome, staring up at the moon with a smile on her face.

"So, you're free now."  It was a statement, not a question.

"Yeah."  Then, with a sudden burst of rebellion, he kicked the beads.  They landed in the water with a splash, and the river washed them far away, away from him.  Suddenly, he felt better.  "Kikyo, why don't you come with us?"

"Hm…"  The priestess shook her head.  "No."  At the disappointed look on his face, she elaborated.  "Not yet, anyway."  She looked over to Kagome, who had come out of the secluded area she'd been dressing in.

Kagome's gray eyes widened at the sight of Kikyo.  Kikyo gave her a brief nod, then started walking away.

Inuyasha didn't walk after her even though he badly wanted to.  He wondered why.  Maybe some part of him felt there was some truth to Kagome's words.

Kagome glared down at Inuyasha, then turned back.  "Well, aren't _you_ getting some sleep?" she asked him with a bitter tone.

"Why is it any of your concern, wench?"  He followed Kagome back to the others, though, and jumped back into his tree, stretching out on the branch.

Kagome slipped back into her sleeping bag, dignity gone.  Now what?  Now what would she do…?  She let herself fall into a deep sleep…

…and about five hours later was shaken awake by the arrogant half-demon.  "Oh, Kagome," he said in that mocking voice she hated. "Time to get up, now!"

Remembering the conversation the previous night, she got up quickly and started putting the sleeping bag away.

Sango, who had also gotten up, was stretching out her arms.  She turned around to say something to Kagome, and saw Inuyasha standing right behind her.  "Oh, good mor—" she began, but stopped when she noticed the absence of a certain accessory around Inuyasha's neck.  "Oh, no…" she groaned.

Inuyasha smirked.  "Well, shouldn't you be getting the monk and the kitsune up now?"

Sango looked back down at Kagome, who still appeared to be in a bad mood.  She looked back to Inuyasha.

"What?" the dog-demon asked.

Sango reached back and tapped Miroku's sleeping form.  "Houshi-sama, you might want to wake up for this…" she whispered.

"What?" Miroku asked sleepily, probably hoping for something else as he looked up.  He blinked.  "Huh?"  Something was different about Inuyasha, but he couldn't put his finger on it…  "Oh, no," he sighed.

Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest.  "Get a move on so we can get that Shikon shard by this time tomorrow."

Both the Buddhist monk and the demon slayer quickly started getting their things together so they could get going.  Inuyasha was still standing in the same position, looking impatient, when they finished.

Kirara mewed interrogatively at Sango as they started off, and Shippo looked very worried, but no one said a word, as not to disturb Inuyasha.  Sango wanted to pull Kagome to the side and ask her about it, or at least whisper to her, but she didn't out of previous experience with Inuyasha's sharp, super-human hearing.

Kagome was behind Inuyasha, her gray eyes down-cast, her face defeated.  Obviously, this was the outcome of some sort of fight the two of them had had while their three friends were asleep.  The subject wasn't brought up, though, and as they moved along to the next village, no details were given.

The village they entered was small.  And wrecked.  Huts had been squashed and splintered, charred wood lay all over the place.  Inuyasha noted the smell of blood and death…and a demon.  Definitely one with a Shikon shard.

He needed more answers than that, though, as he'd learned from Kagome.  But his people skills weren't that good.  He nodded at Miroku, who by this time knew the drill.

Miroku walked up to two villagers who were loading the corpse of an old man onto a cart.  "Excuse me," he said politely.

The villagers immediately went on the defensive.  "Huh?  Who're you?!"

Miroku was sure to use the tone he usually did with people besides his friends, who knew him better than that.  "My group and I…"—he gestured back at the other four—"…were traveling through this area, and we sensed an evil demon around this area.  We'd like to meet with your leader to see if we can help out, if it's not too much trouble."

The men seemed to relax a bit.  The second one said, "Our leader is in that hut over there."  He pointed.  "I should warn you, he's been injured in the last attack."

"Thank you."  He bowed to the men and motioned to the others.  They all proceeded onto the village leader's hut.

The leader's leg had been broken.  He wasn't an extremely old man.  In his middle ages.  He had the look about him of someone who had aged early, and his hair was gray.

Kagome wasn't really paying attention to much of the conversation as she thought about how things would be changing.  She could hear Miroku in the background of her thoughts, giving a brief explanation of how they'd come together in search of the Shikon shards, and that they wanted to help them out and save the village as well as obtain the demon's shard of the jewel.

She let her mind wander and wondered what Kikyo had been doing, talking to Inuyasha.  She told herself she didn't care, and she shouldn't since Inuyasha wasn't her boyfriend, but she knew she did.  And things were gonna get nastier than ever now that this had happened.

Kagome came back to reality when Sango tapped her on the shoulder and tilted her head towards Miroku, who was making the final arrangements with the village leader.

"…so you can stay here tonight.  There are two vacant huts that are still of use."

"Thank you kindly, sir," Miroku said, bowing.  Then the five of them went on to find the huts and set up everything they needed.

Kagome was sure not to speak to Inuyasha on the way.  She, Shippo, and Sango took one hut, and Inuyasha and Miroku took the other.

Finally, with the half-demon out of hearing distance, Sango finally blurted out, "Kagome, what happened?"

Kagome hesitated as she unrolled her futon.  "I…"  She bit her lip.  "He and I got into an argument, and I fell, and the next thing I knew…it…they just…_snapped_, and he was grinning."

Sango sighed.  "He's going to be pushier than ever now."

"I agree."  The conversation ended there, and neither girl stated what both knew for sure: out of all of them, Kagome was going to have the worst deal of all.

Yay!  There it is!  Going on to Chapter Three now, so keep lookin' out for it!  I should warn you, Kikyo is probably going to be in the next chapter more, so watch out.  Actually KAGOME should watch out, because this is bad news for her.  Am I giving too much away?  Yes, I'm giving too much away!  Read on, read on!


	3. Dark Passions

Chapter Three

Dark Passions

Author's Note:  Kikyo is in this part…and my little brother, Raptor, wants me to tell you something:  He's going to make fun of this story in a humor fic.  I would NOT, I repeat, absolutely NOT be letting him do this except for the fact that he is my brother…(and his ideas were kinda funny…)  …feh.  So I just wanted to tell everyone I'm not handing it out for a bunch of parodies to be written up.  

Now that everything was set up, it was still daylight.  Kagome could see that Miroku and Inuyasha were having a conversation, so she could easily slip away without either of them noticing so that she could take a bath.

As she sunk into the hot spring, she started thinking again.  What would change now besides the things Inuyasha had told her about?

She bit her lip again.  Well, she knew she'd be depressed.  And more likely to be injured both physically and emotionally since Inuyasha no longer had to save himself from her "sit" command.  But she knew she had to look on the bright side…well…WAS there a bright side to it?  Probably not.

Suddenly, she stood up in the water, fury overcoming depression.  There was no way—no way in _hell_!—that she was going to let Inuyasha do this to her.  It was _his_ fault all of this had happened, because it was him that fell into Naraku's trap half a century before!

As Kagome's anger grew, she felt a strong wind blowing her long, black hair back.  Suddenly, a beam of light burst forward, snapping the trunk of a giant tree.  Kagome jumped out of the way as it almost hit her.

Her heart was pounding, her breathing uneven, adrenaline running as she tried to calm down.  She quickly re-dressed in case any of the others had heard the noise.

Looking down at the tree trunk, she could see that the energy had come from her direction.  That caused her to wonder.  Had she herself released that energy?  Why hadn't this happened before if she had this kind of power?

"I've gotta get out of here," she sighed, then turned to head back to the village, then stopped, giving the tree one last look.  It must have been her anger, she decided, her anger at Inuyasha that had sparked this transformation.

"Then, maybe…"  She lifted a hand uncertainly, then tried for the previous effect.  Nothing happened.  "Hm."  She frowned, then thought harder about it.  What had she done before?  She tried to remember what had been going through her mind.

She…she hated him.  He couldn't treat her this way…then she'd tried to give herself strength to confront her sadness, and…

"Oh, so that's it," she whispered, smiling slightly.  She lifted her hand up again, then concentrated on the energy around and inside of her, then moved it to her hand.  She gasped when she saw a bright light coming from her fingertips.  So she _did_ have the powers Inuyasha always complained she didn't have enough of! 

She let the ray cut down another tree.  What kind of things _could_ she do with these powers?  She could do more, probably, than Kikyo ever did.  The thought made her grin again.  So all wasn't lost!  But she needed to develop this some more…without the others knowing.  Then one day she could surprise that stupid dog-demon and rub it in his face that she'd beaten down an enemy with one blow—an enemy that he was having trouble keeping up with.  Maybe after letting him feel depressed for a little while, she'd just leave.  Or did she want to stay with him…?

_After what he did to you, you're even thinking about staying with him?!_ her brain screeched.  No, she decided.  She could do better than that.  A lot better.

She turned and started back to the village.

***

"About time!" an irritated voice greeted her.  She walked right past Inuyasha without even looking at him.  "Where the hell were you?"  She didn't answer, which made Inuyasha even angrier.  "Hey, I'm talking to you, stupid!"

"I took a bath," she replied tonelessly. "What?  Don't I smell better?  No more rotting corpse smell?"

For a moment, she thought she saw a hurt look on his face, but she looked again and it was gone—if it had even been there at all.  "Fine!  Ask me before you run off like that again!  The demon could've gotten you and stolen the Shikon shards we have!" he yelled at her.

She didn't answer, just walked away.  Inuyasha suddenly felt the pain again.  Had he hurt her?  He answered his own question.  Of course, he'd hurt her!  But did he care?  Yes!  He blinked.  And just where did _that_ come from, anyway?

"Feh."  He sat on a long and rested his head in one of his clawed hands.  Why did she take the smell thing so seriously?  Was it because it was one of the first things he'd said to her, when he'd thought she was Kikyo?  Why would that even matter to her?

Unless…she actually…

Inuyasha shoved the idea out of his head before it was too late.  She didn't love him—she had that Hojo guy back in her time that he'd heard her telling Sango about.  Of course, that was one of the reasons he'd been so happy to keep her here.  She couldn't go to that guy anymore.  Before, he had felt like he was losing something.  But now he could watch over her and make sure no one else touched her.

Was that so terrible of him, he wondered, to want her for himself?  Kagome was definitely mad at him, and very upset that she couldn't see her family, but still…

"Am I interrupting, Inuyasha?"

He jumped up.  "K-Kikyo!"

The priestess was standing right there in front of him, her face as expressionless—if not more—as her reincarnation's had been.  "I'm ready now."

"Ready?" he echoed. "Ready for—?"

"To join your group."  She sat down beside him, fingering her bow.  "I think I can be of some use to you."

At this, the guilty feeling washed away instantly, entirely forgotten for the time being.  "R-really?  You're serious?" he asked.  She nodded.  "W-well, that's great!  Uh, Sango, Kagome, and Shippo are in the hut over there.  Tell Kagome I told her to kick Shippo out, and he can stay with me and Miroku."

Kikyo rose immediately.  "Then we'll fight the demon tomorrow?"

"Yeah," he said, smiling.  "Tomorrow.  Thanks, Kikyo."

She nodded again with a slight smile of her own, then walked towards the hut.

There's Chapter Three.  Warnings for the next few chapters:  Inuyasha's a jerk, obviously.  Also, Kagome gets more and more depressed, then gets angrier and angrier, and develops her powers secretly at night (thanks SO much for this idea, Geminia!), so this WILL BE ANGST-Y.  So, I'll get to work on the next two chapters.  Sorry it took so long to get 2 and 3 up, and I don't know when 4 and 5'll be up, but I'll see.  Thanks!  --Kat Yuy


	4. Demon Defeated

Chapter Four

Demon Defeated

T_T  I'm sorry; I have NO EXCUSE for not updating in so long!!!  I'm sorry, everyone!  BAD KAT!  BAD KAT!  (And this is after all of the reviews…now I sorta feel bad.)  I'll get to working more on it while I can, but eighth grade graduation and confirmation and my cousin's wedding and eighth grade trip and prom and report cards and stuff are coming up……though it still isn't much of an excuse…^-^;;;

I hope this won't effect how many people enjoy my story, though!  Ugh…most will have forgotten it and will need to re-read it again…T_T  Watakushi no baka…but, oh, well.  I'm sure new people will come along and read it…*still feels like a baka*

Disclaimer:  I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.  I'm not receiving money for this fanfiction.

Kagome stood with her bow and arrow ready, but lowered down.  Kikyo, beside her, was doing the same.  Kagome fought the urge to glare at her previous incarnate, but knew that if Kikyo told Inuyasha about it, she'd be dead meat.  So she looked away from the undead priestess.

Kikyo, meanwhile, fought the urge to smile.  Kagome was quite obviously—and also quite understandably—furious.   Inuyasha had made her work with her worst rival, the one person she hated more than anything, except perhaps Naraku.  Kikyo was enjoying watching the girl squirm, because both of them knew who the better was between the two of them.  And Inuyasha was about to find out for sure today.

_So,_ Kagome thought as Kikyo gave her a small smirk, _this is a contest to see who gets Inuyasha?  Bring it on!_  She gripped her bow more tightly, then thought about it.  Inuyasha was starting to hurt her more than ever—what the hell did she want him for?! _ Nah, I'll beat her still…if only to keep Inuyasha from being happy while I'm not, _Kagome decided.

Inuyasha seemed not to know of the unspoken words passing between the two women who had the same soul.  He looked back, his eyes going from Kagome to Kikyo.  Kagome glared at him, but Kikyo was still expressionless.  Inuyasha turned away from her rather quickly, and she again didn't see the hurt look in his eyes.

"There," Kikyo said, pointing. "I sense the demon there."

Kagome didn't bother to confirm it.  She readied her bow as the demon appeared suddenly in front of them.  Inuyasha was already attacking.  "IRON REAVER, SOUL STEALER!"  With the slash of his powerful claws, a deep wound appeared in the demon's shoulder.

Kagome was already aiming an arrow at it, but took a moment to stare at the demon.  It was a big, ugly one, nearly as large as Menomaru had been when he turned into his giant moth form—though it wasn't nearly as powerful.  Its skin was grayish in tone, and purple blood oozed from where Inuyasha had injured it.  It threw back its hideous head and howled monstrously.

Then she watched in both horror and fascination as it moved forward—the ground shook twice at its giant steps—and howled again.  Then a mysterious light glowed from its shoulder, which miraculously healed itself.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted. "It's using the power of multiple jewel shards!"

"Multiple?" Inuyasha repeated, flexing his claws as he circled the colossal demon. "Well, where are they?!"

"One in his forehead, another in the left leg—"

"And also one in the right shoulder where you cut it," Kikyo finished.  As she spoke, she loaded an arrow onto her own bow and fired, hitting it right in the forehead.  Kagome gasped, and one fragment of the Shikon no Tama flew out amid the demon's maroon blood.

The demon let loose with an unearthly howl, as would well indicate that it wasn't exactly intelligent and couldn't speak, and lunged at the beautiful priestess who had injured him.

"KIKYO!"  Inuyasha jumped in front of Kikyo, pushing her out of the way quickly.  The beast's claws caught onto the fire-rat robe and the half-demon was thrown up into the air.  Sango gasped and Kagome cried out as the claws came back down with him, tearing through his skin.  Blood spattered against the trees and into the ground.

"INUYASHA!"  Kagome immediately began running to him, but the demon was eyeing her now.  Kikyo gave no reaction to the way the girl from the future was holding her former lover, just lifted up the bow and fired again, tearing away the jewel shard in its leg.

On the transformed Kirara's back, Sango held up the Hiraikotsu, throwing it at the demon's shoulder.  The over-sized boomerang tore through it efficiently, and the big cat-demon swooped down so Sango could catch the shard.

The demon—injured, but without its Shikon shards—let out an animal-like defeated moan, knowing it had been beaten.

"Wind tunnel!" Miroku shouted, unwinding the beads from his right hand.  The black hole tugged at the large demon's form, but it was eventually pulled in and swallowed up there.

With all that finished, everyone ran to Inuyasha.

Kagome helped the injured dog-demon up gently.  He was shaking slightly, slightly dazed from blood loss.  Kagome looked up at Kikyo, almost as if begging the priestess to do something about it.

Kikyo bent down, touched the wound, and everyone watched in wonder as it healed instantly.  "He's still lost a lot of blood," Kikyo concluded in her soft, emotionless voice. "Inuyasha, you must rest while your body makes up for that."

"Feh," he grumbled, standing up shakily. "I don't need to rest; I'm fine…"  He tripped and fell to his knees and elbows.

Kikyo shook her head.  Then she turned.  "You're the one called Sango, are you not?"

"Y-yes, I am," Sango replied, removing her mask so her voice could be heard more easily.

"Take him back to the village on the cat.  It's too dangerous to let him walk, unless we plan on him falling more and re-injuring himself."

"Right."  Sango and Miroku eased Inuyasha onto Kirara's back, then Sango hopped on (after slapping Miroku for being a hentai).  "See you later," she whispered to Kagome before Kirara flew up into the air.

***

Kagome felt awfully stupid as she walked the rest of the way back with the others.  Wiping away the tears she'd shed at the sight of Inuyasha's blood, she recalled what Kikyo had done.  SHE could have done that!  It hadn't been a day yet, though, since she'd discovered how to use the powers that had come along with her soul.

Kikyo at age seventeen had managed to be more powerful than her little sister Kaede was at age sixty or so.  Kikyo's body hadn't aged a bit since the day Urasue had stolen her bones, and it was a constant reminder to Inuyasha because she looked the same as the day they turned against each other—with the absence, of course, of the blood dripping from her shoulder.

_He still doesn't think I'm as good as Kikyo,_ Kagome thought with irritation. _All that I tried to do for him, and he still doesn't get it!  I can only become stronger than her…_

Kagome was lost deep in her thoughts when it struck her.  She'd have to practice her new powers vigorously every night.  That way, she'd improve even faster, and maybe even pass up Kikyo.  She was sure that if it needed to happen, Kikyo could have easily killed Inuyasha any time she liked, even without the magical arrows.  So if she got better in time, and Inuyasha annoyed her too much…

_Ugh.  That's just like me.  One minute, I love a guy, and the next minute, I'm planning to murder him.  I really need a group-therapy session,_ Kagome thought bitterly.  _Then again_, she reminded herself, _I'm not allowed to go back to my time, so I'd miss all the meetings._

The group walked on silently.


	5. Hurt Kagome Injured Inuyasha

Kat:  Alright, I'd better get some reviews fast!  Thank you, Sesshomaru77, for motivating me to add onto Demotion.  God knows I'd never have gotten around to it otherwise!  Also, should I start making up names for every chapter I write?  I know few people read these parts—I do on most peoples' fics cuz I'm just weird—so I probably won't get an answer.  REVIEWS!  *glares at everyone*

Everyone who reads this:  *hurry up and start reviewing fast before Kat kills them*

Kat:  ^-^

Chapter Five

A Hurt Kagome and an Injured Inuyasha

Inuyasha had seen the worried look on Kagome's face when he was injured.  Her wide, frightened eyes, her raven hair flying behind her has she rushed towards him.  She'd been so scared…

Kikyo, the woman he'd loved for so long, hadn't even checked up on him.  She'd just ordered the others around calmly.  As calmly as if he'd stubbed his toe or something.

Why, he wondered, grimacing in pain as Kirara carried him off.  Why did Kagome, who had every reason to hate him, feel more obliged to help him—to even cry for him—than Kikyo, who hated him now for no reason?

He opened his golden-yellow eyes and as an image flashed through his mind again of Kagome's tears.  Then he saw the beads snap in his mind.  The spell beads, the only thing that had protected her from his wrath…were gone.  How frightened she must have been.  Maybe she'd even LOVED him before, but every chance of that was ruined.  Too much had happened between him and Kikyo, though he hated admitting it even in his own mind.

The beads snapped again and he saw Kagome fall painfully to the ground.  He'd usually have helped her up, but he'd become overtaken by his new power—by freedom.

Freedom wasn't good for those who caused damage to others.  That's why Kaede had put the beads on him…to protect Kagome.  Kagome could've "sat" him back then until he couldn't moved, before he knew about the well.  She could have refused to help him look for the Shikon shards, but she'd helped him then.  On occasion, she'd had to use the spell—quite frequently, actually—but it was for her own safety most of the time.  She knew his temper better than he himself.

Baka, he thought, wincing slightly again.  She'd done it because she loved him.  She had no personal use for the jewel.  If she'd have left at her first chance, she wouldn't have realized that it caused so much damage and then…he couldn't imagine.

Inuyasha sat up straight, gasping.  "Where's Kagome?"

"Inuyasha, you must lie down!" Sango exclaimed, pushing him back. "We're almost to the village.  You can rest there.  Kagome and the others are fine."

He sat up again and stared at the demon exterminator.  She must have been wondering why he asked for Kagome and not for Kikyo.  He could see a somewhat puzzled expression on her face.  But Sango wasn't likely to tell anyone about this.  He knew that for a fact.  "Feel…so _tired_…and so weak…"  He fell back again.

"Damn it, Inuyasha, give it a rest!" Sango sighed.

Under more normal circumstances, Inuyasha would have protested profusely.  But now he was much too exhausted.

Drained of all his energy, the half-demon nodded quietly off to sleep.

***

Kagome, Miroku, Kikyo, and Shippo walked into the hut where Inuyasha was resting.  Kagome immediately blurted out to the village doctor, "How is he?!"

"Fine, fine," the doctor muttered. "Just resting."  He looked very annoyed to be called to the assistance of a part-demon.  "Leave him be until he wakes up on his own."

Inuyasha's bare chest rose and fell steadily as he slept peacefully.  He looked normal enough.  You couldn't even tell that he'd been so badly injured just an hour or two before.

Seeing that he was fine, everyone filed out, but Kagome stayed a second or two, her eyes resting on his face.

He really was good-looking.  His muscles weren't tensed up into a scowl as usual, and his face showed no emotion.  His mouth was open just a bit, and though she could see his fangs, he didn't look threatening.  His long, silvery-white hair was tousled around his head on the pillow.  

She considered for a moment reaching out to touch one of his cute doggie ears, but her hand moved towards them slowly, then moved away.  "Sleep well," she whispered, then walked away.

Inuyasha's eyes opened slowly, sadly gazing at Kagome's retreating form.  Was she that scared of him now, that she felt she couldn't even touch him anymore?

His eyes burned.  He couldn't stop.  It'd be too big a blow to his pride to admit he was wrong.  Kagome knew his arrogance as well as he did.

Perhaps she'd figure it out on her own, that he didn't hate her at all.

"Please forgive me, Kagome," he whispered softly to no one.

Did she hear him?  He felt his pulse quicken, then his heart sank.  No.  Of course not.  She was either in her own hut or off talking with Sango.  

Inuyasha sniffed the air.  Kagome's fragrant scent still lingered in the noon air.  He still loved that smell despite himself.  He just never got over the fact that she smelled so good.

Suddenly Kikyo didn't seem so great.  She was so serious, emotionless.  Not only did she hate him, but she didn't seem to care for anything anymore.  Though she was probably a bit prettier than Kagome, the other girl's high spirits made up for it.  She was much more passionate than Kikyo had ever been about anything.  Plus, Inuyasha thought, with the hint of a smile, she smelled much better than Kikyo, too.  It seemed the "shampoo" and soaps of her time really did make a difference of some sort.  But he was sure she'd smell better than Kikyo anyway.

He was still smiling when he really did fall asleep.

Kat:  Alright, I'd better get some reviews fast!  Thank you, Sesshomaru77, for motivating me to add onto Demotion.  God knows I'd never have gotten around to it otherwise!  REVIEWS!  *glares at everyone*

Everyone who reads this:  *hurry up and start reviewing before Kat kills them*


	6. Treacherous Discovery

Kat:  Thanks for the reviews!  Thank ye especially Geminia, my bestest reviewer!  ^-^  I really need to cut down on the caffeine…of course, it's very effective.  IT GETS PEOPLE TO REVIEW!  Now, hop to it, or you'll be backing away like everyone else who I scared into reviewing.  Oh, yes, and I will not hurt Geminia.  I've decided I really, really like her cuz she gave me such a great idea!  I should warn now that Chapter Seven will be very angsty and Inuyasha's an even bigger jerk than before, and in this chapter, too, a little, but here we're getting ahead of ourselves!  I'd better shut up before I give the whole story away!  THANK YOU, MY LOYAL FANS/MINIONS!!!  ^-^

Sorry it took so long to update…I was out of state with family.  My cousin's wedding was great, if anyone's interested.  No?  Didn't think so.

Disclaimer:  Inuyasha is mine.  My parents gave it to me as a pre-graduation present.  *is carried off by the guys in the white suits and taken to the Happy Place*  (This is a joke between me and someone else…LOL.  Hi, Trinny!  ^^;;;)

Chapter Six

Treacherous Discovery

Kagome lifted up one of her slender hands, testing out her powers again.  She barely even thought about it this time, and the beam sliced through more than one tree.  Perfect.  And her archery wasn't shabby, either.

Also, she was starting to remember some of the martial arts she'd learned as a child.  Her father had been a karate instructor before he died, but Kagome had stopped after that.  She was eleven last time she'd used them, so she was now practicing kata (technique) with the light-beams she'd figured out how to use.

Also, she'd discovered that this was the same thing Kikyo had used when she'd first been resurrected and she'd grabbed Inuyasha's shoulders, burning him.

Kagome felt calm, at ease, as she went through the steps of the kata.  She'd surprise them all with it one of these days…she frowned, kicking up past her head.  Would she use her powers to help or hurt Inuyasha?  It would be easy—very, very easy—to kill him with them.  Or would she use them to defend him against a demon in battle?  She could have just hurt him and left him wishing he'd never offended her.

She was almost ready…she could feel it.  She had to be one of the most powerful humans alive.  Maybe—she almost trembled to think of it—more powerful than Kikyo already.  Almost certainly she was already more powerful than Miroku or Sango.

Through her head floated all the insults Inuyasha had ever thrown her way.  He'd informed her that she was ugly, she smelled disgusting, and she was useless, among other things.  Her anger fueled her desire to fight.  Perhaps this wasn't healthy.  She'd read that anger increased your blood pressure and reduced  your life.  But it felt so GOOD.

She was aware of just how graceful her movements were.  She'd taken ballet, too.  An enemy wouldn't be sure whether she was attacking or simply dancing, but once she'd begun her dance of death…

…they'd never know what hit them.

She leapt up into the air elegantly, twisting in the air and landing perfectly.  She imagined whatever imaginary enemy she'd been fighting was now dead.

She probably smelled worse than Inuyasha usually claimed she did.  Sweat drenched her whole body, matting her dark hair to her head and causing her shirt to cling to her body.  It was time for a short bath.

She walked the short distance to the river and removed her clothes, taking them in with her to wash them off.  Once her clothes were clean again, she leaned back and let the water soak into her skin.

She looked up at the sky.  It was almost moonless.  Perfect.  It was almost Inuyasha's human night and she'd watch him suffer.

Closing her gray eyes, she could see Inuyasha's face, cruelly triumphant.  He'd won the battle over her.  He owned her until the jewel was found.  But he didn't realize the value of what he owned.

Probably, she thought bitterly, he'd find out about her new powers.  He'd crush the well, take the jewel for his own use, and keep her in his time forever as his minion, his assassin, his slave.

She was certain of where Kikyo would be.  At Inuyasha's side in his big castle, his loving wife.  Kagome wanted to gag at the thought.  At least, she thought with dry humor, Kikyo would live up to the title Kagome had secretly given her, but would never say out loud.  (AN:  Think: female dog.)

Kagome allowed herself to laugh out loud.  No, she didn't care if Inuyasha loved Kikyo.  She really didn't anymore.  She just wanted out.  She could take Hojo and be happy forever!

***

"Damn it, Kagome, where are you?" Inuyasha grumbled.  Due to the fact that her scent was all over the place, he couldn't trace her.  He ran his fingers through his hair and walked towards where he was pretty sure there was a hot spring.

Luckily, he wasn't hurt anymore.  He'd rested the whole day and felt fine.  When he woke up, no one else was awake.  Kikyo and Kagome were both gone.

Kikyo was probably fine on her own.  But Kagome…he couldn't bear the thought of losing her.

He saw a woman standing in a clearing finally.  "Kagome?"

The woman turned.  The eyes were too serious, the face too pale.

"Kikyo," he ammended quickly, nodding. "You were both gone and I came out to find you."

"No," Kikyo said softly, balling her hands into fists. "You did not come looking for me.  You came here to look for Kagome."

Inuyasha felt a slight lump in his throat.  "I knew you could take care of yourself."

Kikyo glared.  The same look was present in her eyes that had been there the day she'd pinned him to the tree.  "No!  You didn't care!  You LOVE that little girl more than you did me!"

"NO, I DO NOT!" he snapped, grabbing her by the shoulders.

Kikyo looked taken aback at his outburst.

Inuyasha himself was surprsied.  Slowly, he released her, and said more gently, "That's just not true."

_This makes more sense,_ he told himself.  Kikyo was from his own time.  She was the first woman he'd ever loved.  And he shouldn't have ever loved any woman but her.

He stuttered a bit over his next few words.  "Kikyo, LOOK at me.  This is what you wanted….  Can't you…just this once…?"

Kikyo's face softened slightly.  "Maybe so."  She closed her eyes.

Inuyasha allowed his eyes to close as well.  He'd never experienced this, and he was curious to see how he reacted to such things.  He reached out, pulling her closer, then kissed her.

It was good, though not quite what it had been when he'd still loved her.  But still, he tried to enjoy it.  Running his fingers through her silky black hair, he ran his tongue across her lower lip…

…and heard a rustling in the bushes.

Both pulled back at the sound.  He turned slowly, expecting to find Miroku ready to make perverted jokes.

The one who'd caught them looked awfully mad.  "That's it.  I'm outta here."

It was Kagome.


	7. Blood of Tears

Oh, my God, I am SO sorry. I've been so busy writing my vampire novel that I completely ignored my fanfics until now. Please forgive me! Don't kill me! I'm back now and I promise to finish it.

Rating will go up in this chapter, mostly for language.

Disclaimer: Alright…alright! …this place isn't so happy anymore, and I don't wanna be sedated unless you give me laughing gas… pushes a large needle away and clears throat I don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter Seven

Blood of Tears

The hair stood up on the back of her neck as she stared at them, open-mouthed. Turning to Kikyo, she shouted, "You little SLUT!"

Kikyo was smiling. "Hello, Kagome," she said coolly. "How are you today?"

"You know exactly how I am," she replied just as coldly. "I wasn't expecting you two to be doing that this early, but it's to be expected, I suppose." She turned sharply, walking away.

"KAGOME! Wait!" Inuyasha sped after her, but she picked up speed of her own.

"Leave me alone!" she screamed at him. "Haven't you done enough already!"

So he left her alone.

Kagome was panting when she reached another clearing. This was unbelievable. They could not DO this to her.

She slid down the ground, tears rolling down her face. She'd lied to herself, said she didn't care, but she did! It wasn't fair! It just wasn't fair!

Her hands fell to the side, and by chance, bumped softly against the small pocketknife she kept with her. It had to be a sign.

She pulled it out, unsure at first of what she was going to do, until she felt something slice through her wrist.

Inuyasha sat in a tree. Kikyo was gone. She'd left elsewhere now that she'd succeeded in permanently ruining his life.

He was just moping and hating himself and his life when he considered the circumstances. Kagome had not been happy when he'd last talked to her. Maybe he should go apologize and make a huge fool out of himself before Kagome did something drastic.

But on the night air, he smelled she already had done something drastic as he jumped down from the tree branch. He sniffed.

The smell of fresh blood.

Kagome's blood.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha's strong legs carried him much faster than a human's would have as he raced to save Kagome.

The smell of the blood was starting to take over her usual aromatic scent.

Finally, he found her holding a knife in the air, staring at it blankly. Blood dripped from the knife and down to the ground, staining the grass. Her other hand was up in a similar position, and he could now see where the blood was coming from.

"Kagome, what did you do!" Inuyasha screamed, horror evident on his face.

Kagome's head turned towards him. He gasped when he saw her expression. Vacant, empty.

Like Kikyo.

This was the one thing he'd prayed would never happen, that she'd wind up like her previous incarnate. He'd had new hopes for Kagome, but here they shattered as he saw her void eyes.

Then, the eyes went down again to the small knife. She switched hands and slashed the other wrist right in front of him.

"STOP IT! STOP!" he screamed, rushing forward to grab her hands. He yanked the knife away, throwing it into the brush, then pulled Kagome up into his arms. "I gotta get you back…I'm taking you back to the other village to see Kaede."

She didn't answer. Her head fell down, her body going limp. She'd lost consciousness.

He ran with her to find the others, who emerged from the huts at the sound.

Miroku looked absolutely shocked. His staff clattered to the ground and his mouth hung open in alarm.

Shippo started crying. Kagome had been his surrogate mother, and she probably appeared to be dead to the small fox-demon.

Sango, though, got angry. "What the hell did you do now, Inuyasha! Wasn't it bad enough that you stole her home away from her, as well as her family and freedom! It had to be you that drove her over the edge, you bastard! Only you could be callous enough—"

"Sango! Now's not the time to be pointing fingers!" Miroku interjected. "Lady Kagome needs to be taken to Kaede."

"I need Kirara," Inuyasha said, looking down at Kagome's motionless form. "She cut herself pretty deep."

A loud cry of "mew!" came from the hut. The cute kitten transformed into a giant fire-cat. Inuyasha hopped onto her back, propping Kagome up in front of him against Kirara's neck.

"Start your way home!" he called as the went up into the air.

Kikyo walked along, chuckling. She was sure by now Kagome and Inuyasha were both damaged so badly that his chances with her were totally ruined.

The sun was beginning to shine. She smiled a bit, looking up at the red sky.

Then footsteps sounded behind her. She glanced back, then nodded, turning fully and bowing. "Is it Sesshomaru?"

Sesshomaru, for once, was not accompanied by his servant Jaken or that annoying—yet adorable—girl Rin. He walked calmly to Kikyo. "I smell the girl Kagome's blood. I was wondering if you had something to do with it."

Kikyo smirked. "There was a bit of a lover's dispute between the little girl and Inuyasha."

Sesshomaru nodded. "Very unfortunate."

She studied his face. He appeared serious, but he wasn't stupid. He KNEW she'd done something to make them fight. "Well, then, I'll be on my way…"

"Not so fast…" Sesshomaru's hand was tight around her wrist. "I could use an assistant of some… application. Jaken's so useless I'm about ready to kill him. Rin's not much help, but she's not taking away from anything…so…"

Kikyo felt her heart beat faster already. The only other time she'd spoken to Sesshomaru, the first thing she'd noticed was just how different he was from Inuyasha…quiet, cool, and a bit superior. He was better-looking, too; that helped. She then willed her pulse to slow, then said, "I will accept your offer. What am I to address you as?"

Sesshomaru paused. She had a feeling it was hesitation, but he seemed to be pretending he hadn't left a gap in the flow of the conversation. "You may call me whatever you wish. Most preferably just Sesshomaru." He turned without another word, and she followed just as silently.


	8. Brutus Iscariot

I promised I'd update, and I did! Hopefully you still remember the fic; I'm so stupid I haven't updated in forever. Anyway, have fun. Please review! I likes my reviews, even if I was a bad girl and didn't update… . 

My e-mail has changed, and I'm not listing it anymore b/c I'd prefer to just get reviews instead of e-mails. It's a safety thing…I had a minor stalker incident, you see. (Said he loved me; kinda freaked me out since I don't know who he really was. Now he can't e-mail me, can't IM me, and I've blocked him from reviewing my stories—just in case.) Anyways, let's just say I'm being more careful now.

In this chapter, we find Inuyasha dealing with Kagome's attempted suicide in his own little way. But trust me, it won't be what you expect. - The angst…I LOVE THE ANGST!

Please enjoy!

--Kathryn Denson

Chapter Eight

Brutus Iscariot

Inuyasha watched Kagome sleep, holding her limp hand in his own. He gently stroked over the injured wrist. Though it had been bandaged by Kaede, there was blood rising up through the white wrappings.

Kaede came through again, hauling a bucket of hot water and fresh bandages. "Inuyasha, how did this happen?" Kaede asked, kneeling down and unwrapping the old bandage.

Inuyasha swallowed hard. "She, uh, must have been attacked," he muttered. "Or possessed. Yeah. It attacked her and possessed her, then did this to her."

Kaede looked up sharply. "This is not a wound from an attack. Ye must not lie to yourself, Inuyasha. The wound was self-inflicted."

"If you know, why did you bother asking?" Inuyasha snapped.

"I was merely inquiring what ye did to upset her so."

He growled. "What makes you think it was me who did this to her?"

Kaede dipped a rag into the steaming water, wrung it out, and washed off the wound. Kagome moaned softly in her sleep, but didn't fight the priestess's attempts to clean it. "Kagome cares more about ye than she does Sango or Miroku, or even Shippo. One of them could not make her do this to herself. Only ye could make her feel so deeply." She turned to him, and the look was not friendly. "Only ye would hurt her so."

Inuyasha flinched, obviously hurt. He looked down and didn't say anything. Kaede raised her eyebrows at this reaction, then turned her attention back to Kagome's wrists. "She meant to die, Inuyasha. What did ye do?"

At first, Inuyasha was silent. Kaede thought he wouldn't answer. Then, so softly she almost didn't hear him, he muttered, "I—she saw me kissing Kikyo."

"Kikyo?" Kaede sat up, a frown on her face.

"Yeah. She…joined us for a short while." Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "I kissed her."

"And where is Kikyo now?" Kaede demanded.

"I…don't know." He lowered his voice. "She didn't come back with the others."

"Hmm." Kaede tied the bandage wound around Kagome's left wrist. "It would seem ye are short two women, Inuyasha."

"Two?" He shook his head. "No. I love Kikyo. Kagome is just—" He stopped.

"Ye made her into your slave. What Kagome yearned for most of all was for ye to love her as much as ye loved Kikyo. Perhaps she gave up on it, settled upon having ye as a friend." She looked at him again. "Ye threw away her friendship, Inuyasha. Ye betrayed her."

"I didn't know," he said numbly.

She gave him a cold look. "She made me change my mind about ye, Inuyasha. I thought ye cared for her." Lifting up the bucket and the bloody bandages, she started out the door. "But now I see ye truly are the brute I thought of ye as."

Inuyasha buried his face into his hands, his claws digging into his skin. Lines of blood trailed down his face, but he didn't care anymore. Kagome had loved him, had trusted him, despite whatever she'd been told about him, and he had tossed her friendship aside. He'd made her want to die.

Kagome whimpered in her sleep. He looked down at her, saw her eyes open. "I-Inuyasha?" Her voice was weak, far-away.

"It's me, Kagome!" He knelt by her side. "It's—"

"No." She held up a finger to his lips to silence him. "Die…Inuyasha…" Her eyes closed again, drifting off into a sleep that still seemed anything but peaceful.

His eyes burned. There was no denying the old woman's words now. Kagome loved him, and he'd done this to her. And the killing stroke…those words…

_"Die, Inuyasha!"_

_Inuyasha turned to face Kikyo, and her arrow went straight through his heart. The Shikon no Tama slipped from between his fingers…_

_"K-Kikyo…"_

He placed his hand over his heart, feeling that sharp pain again. Not because he'd been shot. Not because anyone had ever hurt him. But because the woman he loved had told him to die.

Inuyasha rose to his feet, his left hand over his heart, which he almost swore was bleeding, his right hand clenched into a fist. Kagome had no right to betray him, not with Kikyo's words and Kikyo's face. She hit him where it hurt, and it hurt badly. "I love you," he almost growled out. "I realized I loved you, and those are the words you give me?"

He stormed out, the cool air of the night on his skin, but he was fuming inside. Kagome was supposed to wake up, let him apologize, throw her arms around his neck, and say she loved him. Then they could be happy and forget this whole ordeal! But instead she had to use those words—those hateful words—

He stopped in front of the tree in question. The hole from the priestess's arrow was still visible. Kagome had cut her finger once, touching the tip of the arrow still embedded in it. But that arrow was gone now. He couldn't even drive it through his still-beating heart now, because Kagome had taken it away!

"KAGOME!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Disturbed birds flapped their wings and flew out of the trees as quickly as they could. He drew another deep breath and shouted, "I…HATE…YOU! YOU TRAITOR!"

He drew "traitor" out to the last syllable, let it echo through the trees. He half-expected Kagome to hear his voice and come running to him, but the only sound was the chirping of the crickets. He shook his head, the mane of silver hair swishing. "It's no good," he whispered. "No matter what I do, it's no good…" He grabbed a handful of his gi, felt his heart pounding against his hand, his claws drawing warm blood to trickle downwards. His other hand gripped the Tetsusaiga. He'd slaughtered more demons than he could count with it, and he wanted to strike off his own head…make the pain stop…

"No matter what, I'm still going to hurt," he said, and he could hear a hoarseness creeping into his voice that hadn't been there before. His legs gave out and he fell to his knees, collapsing onto the forest floor.

Hi! I told you I'd update, didn't I! glares at people who didn't believe her I have a new muse now! Except it's my new kitten, so it tends to crawl on and off my lap, and that's why this chapter is so short. KEEP REVIEWING! I love my fans! Almost as much as I love strawberries! -

How's the angst looking? Are you not OUTRAGED by Inuyasha's reaction? Do you like my drama? REVIEW AND TELL ME THEN!

Kat


	9. Kagome Snaps

The ninth chapter…the chapter you've all been BEGGING for…that's right. KAGOME REACHES HER BOILING POINT! OH YES AND DOES SHE BOIL OVER! - I'm so evil.

And as for the reviews: You can do better than that! Review, now! kills all the people who didn't review last time but still enjoyed her ficcie -- I'm going through the trouble of updating it again; the least you can do is send a little note my way that says, "You're doing a good job." I am currently readying stink bombs that shall go off in the rooms of anyone who dares to not review my story…so REVIEW!

That's right, threaten them. That'll make them read. - My muse (AKA my kitten) is currently sleeping on my lap, so now will be a good time to write…as I stroke her fur, laughing insanely like an evil genius off of those old James Bond movies…BWAHAHAHAHA! AND ONTO CHAPTER NINE!

Chapter Nine: Kagome Snaps

Kagome awoke to a familiar ceiling. Not one of the old huts in the other village, not tree branches and blue sky. It was Kaede's house. She sat up, pushing herself up with her hands, and winced at the pain in her wrists. Why did—?

The images came rushing back to her. Inuyasha's lips pressed against Kikyo's. Their passionate embrace. The way he looked so relaxed, so at peace. How could he be so at peace when she hurt so badly?

She ran her fingers over her slashed wrists. It had been a stupid thing to do—giving into the pain that he put her in. She gently unwrapped the bandages and stroked her fingers over the scars. The skin molded back together, leaving her flawless, as if the incident had never happened at all. It had taken little to no energy to heal them.

Inuyasha…he wasn't here. But he must have brought her. Maybe he had cared a little after all…

"No," Kagome said out loud. Inuyasha was only looking out for the wellbeing of his jewel shard detector. Since when had he cared about anyone's pleasure but his own?

She tossed back the covers and stood up, grabbing her yellow pack, and tossing back the drapes to reach the outside. She found Sango leaning against a fence, watching Miroku flirt with all the local girls. "Hey…Sango…"

Sango whirled. "Kagome?" Her mouth was open, eyes wide. "Y-you're okay?" she asked.

"Yes," Kagome said with her usual sweet smile. "I'm fine now."

She stumbled back when Sango's palm connected sharply with the side of her face. She found herself mimicking Sango's previous expression of surprise, her hand pressed to her cheek. "Why—"

"You know why," Sango said fiercely. "You almost died, and it was all because you let that damned half-breed get to you. Where is your sense, Kagome? Where is your head?"

In the silence that followed, Kagome felt the words that Sango hadn't said. Her friends would have been sad if she had truly died. It was very touching…and now she felt bad for having done it at all. Kagome swallowed hard. "I'm sorry."

Sango's stance relaxed a little. She looked at the ground. "It's okay, I guess," she said glumly.

"Where…is Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, looking around. "Is he here?"

The warrior girl shrugged. "I haven't seen him since last night when he brought you here to Kaede. Shippo is out with her getting more herbs for your…your…" Her voice trailed off, a mystified expression on her face, then words came back to her. "Ka-Kagome, weren't your wrists cut last night?"

Damn. "Uh, yes. They healed, though," Kagome said quickly.

Sango frowned at her suspiciously, but pressed no further questions. "Miroku is in plain sight. Kikyo disappeared just after your accident. Inuyasha may have just come to bring you here before…"

"Before he went off to look for Kikyo again." Even though she knew she should hate him, Kagome hurt thinking that he loved Kikyo instead of her.

"I'm sorry," Sango whispered.

Kagome shook her head. "It's not your fault." She hesitated. "I only came here to say goodbye." When Sango looked horrified, Kagome smiled gently. "Not that. I'm going home. And I'm making sure Inuyasha can never come and get me."

"I suppose there's no stopping you?" Sango asked, looking pained.

"I can't stay here where Inuyasha can hurt me like this. Now is the perfect opportunity to leave—while he's busy searching for his lover." She rummaged in her bag, pulling an item out. It was a stuffed fox. "Tell him I said good-bye. I was waiting for the right time to give it to him, but now…I need to go as soon as I can. Before Inuyasha gets back."

Sango nodded, taking the toy. "I'll give it to him."

"Thanks." She glanced at Miroku, who seemed to have noticed her presence and was marching towards her.

"Lady Kagome," Miroku said gravely.

"I'm leaving, Miroku," Kagome said. "I'm going home."

He hesitated. "Now?"

"Yes. Sango said Inuyasha's gone, probably trying to find Kikyo, and I think I should leave. Who knows how soon he could be coming back with her?"

"I don't think Kikyo planned to stay any longer than it took to harm you," Miroku said darkly. "He won't find her. You can stay longer."

"I'd better go. I've been gone long enough."

Miroku opened his mouth, as if to protest, then thought better of it. He nodded his head. "You take care, then."

"You aren't disappointed I left before bearing your children?" Kagome asked, smiling gently.

Miroku smirked at that. "I would hate to lower your self-esteem, but Lady Sango is the perfect woman to bear my children," he said, wrapping his arm around Sango. Kagome expected her friend to yell, even strike him on the head with the Hiraikotsu, but she just blushed. Kagome suspected that despite herself, Sango really liked it when Miroku—

"HENTAI!" BANG!

…or maybe not…

Kagome started the walk to the well. It wasn't a long walk, but she found herself dragging it out, secretly wanting to stay and fall into Inuyasha's arms. She resisted it. He would never apologize…

She paused at the tree, seeing a silver-haired figure sitting up with his back against it. Dog ears twitched when she stepped through the grass, and the golden eyes turned in her direction, narrowing on her backpack. "Going somewhere?" Inuyasha growled.

"I—" Kagome faltered. "Where's Kikyo?"

"Why do you care?" he snapped.

"I expected you to be going to find her. You haven't done everything you want with her yet. Don't you want to finish the job?" Kagome's words had taken on a sharp edge. She was impressed with her own boldness.

Inuyasha's face went from shocked to angry. "You—do NOT talk to me like that!" he snarled, jumping up and grabbing her by the shoulders. He ripped the pack from her back and flung it on the ground, pinning Kagome up against the tree. She gasped at his mere physical strength as he pressed her into it. "You have a lot of nerve pulling a stunt like that!" he whispered harshly into her face. She turned her face to the side, not looking at him. "You nearly got yourself killed. Then when I tried to apologize, you woke up only long enough to tell me to die—just—like—Kikyo," he said, emphasizing each word. He snickered when she only turned her eyes to him. "You're scared, aren't you?"

"No," she said honestly.

"Then turn your face to me."

"No. You have dog breath."

Inuyasha released her, stepping back like he'd been burned. "No matter what I tried I couldn't get it through your head that I'm your master."

"We'll see who's the master in the end!" she snapped back.

"You?" Inuyasha laughed. "You, wench, are just an ordinary human with no powers other than jewel-detecting, entirely powerless without your little 'sit' spell."

She felt a surge of anger, but suppressed it. "You'll find I'm a bit more powerful than you think."

He shook his head, still laughing. "You know what's funny?" he asked, while she stared at him. "Kaede told me when she was fixing you up that you did this because you _loved_ me…that I was the monster here. So I waited. I waited until you woke up, and I tried to comfort you, to make it okay—"

"You were going to 'make it okay?'" Kagome asked. "You have been 'making it okay' since we first met, only to make the same mistake over again. You know, I woke up today and realized I am just sick and tired of you always 'making it okay' for me. It's not going to be okay."

"It could have been if you'd have given me a chance!"

"I'm through with giving you chances!"

"It was different this time!" Inuyasha insisted.

"Why? Because I almost deprived you of your 'tama-detector?' When you got a hold of Kikyo, you could have let me go home and stay with my family. Weren't you always saying she was a better priestess than me? But you didn't send me back. You made me stick with you and watch you stick your tongue in that corpse's mouth!" She snatched the broken bag off of the ground and started towards the well.

"Where are you going!" he called.

"I'm going home for good," she replied over her shoulder. "It's just like you to take my crisis and make it all about you!"

She felt a hand roughly grab her shoulder. "You're not going anywhere. I do need that Shikon detector, and I'm going to keep you here for—"

A burst of blue light erupted from her hand, and she turned it towards Inuyasha. He barely got a chance to look scared before blood started pouring from his chest. Another burst and blood came out of his forehead. "I go where I please, Inuyasha," Kagome said calmly, staring down at him as he fell onto his rear.

"What—how—" he stammered, staring up at her in disbelief. One eye was squeezed shut to keep the blood from rolling into it.

"While you were busy doting on Kikyo, I developed some new talents," she said with an air of sweetness. "You said I wasn't as good as her. Well, I haven't heard of her being able to do any of this." She reached inside her shirt and pulled out the shards of the Shikon no Tama. "A demon couldn't defeat me now, Inuyasha, and you're just a half-demon. You're a half-breed and that's why you can never be expected to act human. You're a monster, a freak of nature, and if I cared one bit about you I would put you out of your misery." She smiled and leaned forward, her face inches from his. Golden eyes filled with pain stared back up at her. "But I don't care for you, so I won't kill you." Tossing the bag over her back, she skipped to the well and waved over her shoulder. "Sayonara, Inuyasha!"

Just as she swung her legs over the side of the well, Inuyasha's voice called, "Kagome!" She looked over her shoulder. His hand was stretched out to her, as if trying to reach her. "I—love you…"

She shook her head. "No, Inuyasha. You love the Shikon no Tama. And I'll see to it you never get a single shard of it."

As Kagome slipped between the worlds, a voice screamed out her name, a mournful howl, but she didn't care anymore…

By the way, you guys had BETTER be happy I wrote this. I did this from 11-1 o'clock while sipping on hot chocolate to keep me awake…and it's hot here… . 

Review button is at the bottom of the page! If you do not review, I will eat your eyebrows! NOW HOP TO IT!


	10. Repercussions

XD. Well, I certainly made an impression, didn't I? I got flames! TT LOL. But I was very surprised that I didn't care. A year ago, I'd have bawled over getting a flame. But I shed no tears. For one, Kagome was pretty pissed-off at Inuyasha and she said some cruel things—things that perhaps she didn't completely mean. She wanted to hurt Inuyasha, and she did it. To the comment that not one good thing has happened since Inuyasha's prayer beads snapped…heh. points to genre If you wanted to read a CHEERY Inu/Kag romance, you shouldn't have gone to the romance/angst section. Maybe you should try romance/humor. Just a suggestion. Since I'm a sucker for happy endings, though, I can almost guarantee one in this case...although I'm kind of ad-libbing this fic. Aw, hell. I'll just promise a happy ending. Happy?

Anyways, that being done with, I will say, for the record (Angel of Forgotten Souls) that this is an Inuyasha/Kagome fic. But I need to include elements of Inuyasha/Kikyo because he WAS in love with her once, but I have something a little different in mind for Kikyo. What, you ask? Well, you'll see…

And for Bus Buddie…LOL. Yes, Inuyasha and Kagome will somehow come together (don't have all the details figured out yet), and I've updated—where is my sock? Can I have my choice of colors? If I can, I want a PURPLE sock cuz purple's cool and it's…purple!

Oh, yes, I must threaten you again. IF YOU DO NOT REVIEW, I WILL LIGHT A HUGE FIRECRACKER UNDER YOUR LAZY BUTT! REVIEW! -

Chapter Ten

Repercussions

Inuyasha must have sat where Kagome left him for hours. He lost track of time. But when he finally stood up and started walking back towards the village, it was dark. Blood was still oozing from his wounds. For some reason, they hadn't begun to heal yet…maybe they never would. He smirked at the thought. No, that would be too pleasant of an end…

When he reached Kaede's tent, he found Shippo lying down by the door, curled up in a tiny ball. The kitsune was shivering, probably sleeping. Upon closer inspection, Inuyasha discovered tear-stains on his cheeks. "Hey," he whispered, poking Shippo. He didn't know why he wanted to wake the fox-demon, but it seemed like the good thing to do. Talk to him, maybe. Inuyasha had never been kind to Shippo before, and he hadn't really planned to start now…but he had a pretty good idea of what had upset him so.

"Don't wanna," Shippo mumbled, swatting Inuyasha's hand away.

"Wake up and talk to me," Inuyasha growled.

There was a sniffing sound, then a pause. Shippo's eyes opened and he sat up. "You're bleeding," he said.

"I know. I'll live." He sat down next to the fox. "Are you crying because Kagome left?"

"Y-yeah." Shippo sniffed again. "Who told you?"

"She did."

"S-she said goodbye to you!" Shippo wailed. "She didn't even—never bothered to say a word t-to me…"

Inuyasha understood. Shippo's own mother had been murdered by the Thunder Brothers. He thought of Kagome as sort of a replacement mother, and now she had left without so much as a note.

Shippo was wiping his face off with one tiny hand. In the other, he held what looked like a tiny fox…

"Did she give that to you?"

"Yeah." When Inuyasha reached for it, Shippo gave it up without protest. "Sh-she left it with Sango. It's a fox," he added.

"I see." Inuyasha turned it over in his hands. The stitches were so perfect, so even…the fibers of the "fur" didn't feel like anything he'd ever felt before. Maybe it was something invented later in time. Perhaps, he mused, eyes on the stitches, Kagome even had a machine to do work like sewing in her world. It made life seem so easy. It would take no time in her world to get such jobs done…

No wonder she wanted to stay there all the time. He squeezed the fox, sniffing. Her scent still lingered on it. _Kagome…_ His eyes closed.

"What are you doing?" Shippo asked.

"Nothing," he lied, handing the fox back. Shippo took it, but he didn't look convinced. Inuyasha sighed and explained, "I can smell her on it."

"Me, too." Shippo hugged the stuffed baby fox tightly. "I miss her already. I wish I knew why she left."

Inuyasha felt a pang in his chest. "You—you mean Sango didn't tell you?" he said carefully.

"No." Shippo pouted. "She only said Kagome had her reasons. Whatever that means."

He had to look away from the kitsune. Not only had he done a horrible enough thing by hurting Kagome, making her want to leave—he had robbed little Shippo of the closest thing he had to a mother. And now…

"It was my fault," Inuyasha said. "I made her even madder than she already was."

Shippo looked up at him with wide eyes. "Even after she cut herself you made her mad?"

Inuyasha winced. He hadn't known how much Shippo really understood about Kagome's attempted suicide. "Yeah. I caught her at the well. We had another argument. She did this to me." He ran his hand through the blood-soaked material of his gi. "You can hit me, if you want," he offered.

"You tried to make her stay?" Shippo asked.

"It didn't work, though. It only got her angrier."

"I knew you wanted her to stay, too. I just knew you cared about her."

The words sent a jolt through Inuyasha. The kid thought he had gone there to stop Kagome from leaving? Because he cared about her? No, he had completely misunderstood—

But as Shippo pressed his face into the uninjured part of Inuyasha's chest, the hanyou realized that this was half of the reason he had tried to stop her, even if it wasn't the half he had expressed vocally. Now he remembered…

Inuyasha closed his eyes, pulling Shippo onto his lap. As he slept, Inuyasha remained wide-awake, mentally going over the incident again…

_"I'm going home for good. It's just like you to take my crisis and make it completely about you!"_

There. That moment of dread. The fear that hit him at his core, the thought that he would never see her again. He would do anything to have her near him…even if it cost him his pride.

_"You're not going anywhere." His hand was grasping her shoulder. She tried to tug out of his grasp and he held her still more tightly, becoming angry that she didn't turn around to listen to him. "I do need that Shikon detector," he hissed, "and I'm going to keep you here for—"_

_--as long as it takes to prove to you that I love you._ But the words never left his lips…that pain…the blood…Kagome's triumphant smile.

But he could have lived with that. The physical pain wasn't too much to bear. He'd had worse, although he suspected that Kagome had held back some. Either way, it was her words that were the killing blow…the words that spoke stronger than her actions.

_"You're a half-breed and that's why you can never be expected to act human. You're a monster, a freak of nature, and if I cared one bit about you I would put you out of your misery." _

His eyes opened. "Monster…" he whispered. "I'm a monster." Not demon, not human. Something in-between, a little bit of both. As a child, he'd tried to be human enough to please the humans, and that hadn't worked. They couldn't see past his demonic side, couldn't think of him as a whole person. He always seemed to despair of ever being thought of anything other than "the half-breed."

When his mother died, he had no reason to keep trying. He'd done it all for her, to please her by proving that he could make friends. But it hadn't worked. The young Inuyasha sought out his demon family. Sesshomaru was the first to say it, but many other voices followed his. The phrase was always the same. "A half-human is not a demon."

Eyes burning, refusing to let the tears of betrayal roll down his cheeks, Inuyasha had realized the horrible truth: the humans wanted to send him back to the demons, and the demons wanted to send him back to the humans. It was then he learned not to trust anyone...not to love…he could get by on his own…

He made up his mind, way back then, to somehow become a full demon. He would prove himself to his brother, his living family, and make the lives of the humans who had rejected him a living hell, and maybe some of the demons, too. Kikyo had foiled his attempts time and time again. The keeper of the Shikon no Tama…then her reincarnation. Beautiful women—the same beautiful woman, some would argue. Both had made him want to be human, the only people who could make him want so badly to fit into the human world—besides his mother, of course.

_Why was I so angry? _Inuyasha wondered. Now that he thought about it, it didn't make sense. Kagome had cut her wrists, had a nightmare about him, wanted him to die because she hated him so much, and he had been angry at her? Had he really even been angry at all? _Yes,_ he thought. There was no mistaking that rush of blood and adrenaline. He had been angry. But at Kagome?

_At myself…_

The answer came unbidden from his subconscious. Fear filled him and he tried to dismiss it as ridiculous, but he knew it was true. He hadn't been angry at Kagome at all. He had been angry and hadn't slowed down enough to realize who he was really angry at! And he had taken it out on her…

"I should have let her go," he said mournfully.

"Ye should have, Inuyasha, yet ye didn't. Have ye found a reason for this?"

He had known Kaede was there for a while, but hadn't paid her any mind. He gave a tiny nod, but didn't look back at the priestess. He didn't offer any further information. The old woman lingered only a while, but it wasn't until after she left that Inuyasha fell asleep.

"You're ready?" Sesshomaru didn't address her by her name, even though he knew it. It seemed a little awkward somehow, speaking too casually to someone he had only just met. Years of being an aristocrat, albeit a demonic one, did not permit it.

But the way he was looking at Kikyo was anything but casual. He found himself admiring the perfectly-sculpted lines of her face, imagining the curves of her body underneath her gi. His eyes drifted to her long dark hair. It looked so soft and silky…if he touched it, would it be as…?

Her voice interrupted his thoughts. "It is ready, Sesshomaru. I can start the spell tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" he repeated. "Why so soon?"

She smiled at him, though the smile did not reach her eyes. It was nothing more than a movement of lips. "Tomorrow is the new moon. The night Inuyasha loses his demon half and becomes fully human—until sun-up, that is."

"Then we'll know at sun-up if the spell worked or not. In the meantime…"

"He won't suspect a thing." She sat down, curling her legs under her. "When the sun comes up, Inuyasha will still be human. The Tetsusaiga will be yours."


	11. Misery

Ooh, goodies, another fic.

Bus Buddie, thanks for the sock! My kitten chews on it and I use it as a pillow at night! - My kitten thanks you for the toy she so desperately needed…she's teething you see and she tends to chew on cords when I'm not looking…so I must keep her a safe distance from my computer unless she's on my lap sleeping as I type…or I could just give her the sock…

When I read branch of tree la's story, I realized that a girl who had flamed her was one of my reviewers. I think it was the nastiest flame I've read that didn't have any curse words in it, and branch of tree la didn't deserve that kind of insult. For Silver Moon Midnight Skies, I noticed you don't have ANY fanfics up. Although you called branch of tree la a hypocrite, your point seems hypocritical too. I hate to lose reviewers, but I thought I should say something. I don't need to be defended; I'm a big girl. And branch of tree la, I'm looking forward to your update…

I realized just now that I don't have disclaimers on most of the new chapters, so I'll say now that standard disclaimers and eyebrow-eating policies apply.

Warnings: Evilness from Kikyo and Sesshomaru, depression from Inuyasha and (surprise, surprise) Kagome, Inuyasha OOC towards Shippo (for reasons he explains), Houjo comes in…DON'T WORRY! He may try, but he won't steal Kagome away—permanently…

Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi died last night and left Inuyasha to me. I moved to a large gothic mansion in Tokyo, and Orlando Bloom and Gerard Butler got into a fight over me (but didn't injure their beautiful faces!) and finally decided they wanted me so much they would share me. As the rights were signed over to me, a flock of pigs flew over the building. A deep rumbling sound below signaled us that hell had frozen over. Demons who had been living in the hot climate for years complained in interviews all over television. The world stopped turning and the tides stopped moving and the moon turned out to really be made of cheese. Then I woke up. And cried. Because I really don't own Inuyasha, Rumiko Takahashi is still alive, all that other stuff was lies—except the moon IS made of cheese—and I'm not making a dime on this fanfic. Enjoy!

Chapter 11

Misery

Kagome eased herself into the bathtub, letting the hot water soak into her skin. She hadn't been in a clean, comfortable bathtub in ages—and she could hardly wait to sleep in her bed. But despite how happy she was to be home, something kept nagging at her.

Kagome slid down until only her eyes showed above the water. She knew what she said to Inuyasha was hurtful…but he deserved it. Right?

_"You nearly got yourself killed. Then when I tried to apologize, you woke up only long enough to tell me to die—just—like—Kikyo." He was right up in her face, invading her personal space. Scaring her a little bit, but she knew deep down what she needed to do…what she was going to do if he didn't let her go…_

It was typical of Inuyasha to blame his mistakes on someone else. When he finally admitted he was wrong, there'd be a parade, Kagome thought moodily. And he was wrong an awful lot. Too wrong. Too often.

_"No matter what I tried I couldn't get it through your head that I'm your master."_

_Her_ master. Kagome's hands clenched into fists. He couldn't even bring himself to think of her as an equal. He thought of her as a slave—no, lower than a slave. Nothing more than a machine with which to detect Shikon shards that he could make himself more powerful with.

_"Kagome!"__ When she looked back at him, that hand was outstretched. She could clearly see the claws that had torn demons apart, defending her and later oppressing her. "I—love you…"_

How often had she longed to hear him say that he loved her? How long ago had she first daydreamed of hearing those words, falling into his waiting arms, and having the most passionate kiss of her life? But those lips had chosen to kiss Kikyo's instead, and then let out a stream of words to hurt her, before finally uttering the words, "I love you."

Kagome shook her head, drawing her knees to her chest. This was all wrong. It wasn't supposed to be like this! She was supposed to be happy, be in his arms, kissing him, holding him, making vows of everlasting love. Instead she had left him bleeding and defeated to think about what he had done, and how she had gotten her revenge.

_I called him a half-breed,_ she thought, and it made her squirm inside just to think it. She of all people knew that Inuyasha's hanyou status had made him subject of ridicule and hatred all of his life. Although he didn't speak of it, his face changed whenever one of those insults came his way. The look on his face after she said that haunted her…how could she have said that to him?

He had said…he'd said she told him to die. Kagome blinked. Inuyasha had related the story to her of the incident between him and Kikyo, and she knew how it hurt him to hear Kikyo tell him to die. Even though it was really Naraku disguised as Kikyo, Kagome suspected that that hurt remained. And perhaps she, Kikyo's reincarnation, had deepened the wound by repeating those words to him.

Kagome shook her head. I _couldn't have said that…I'd have remembered it…unless I wasn't really awake…_ Realization hit her as she recounted her dream the previous night. _Oh, _shit

Naraku and Inuyasha. Fighting. All that blood…and Inuyasha had completely misunderstood it all! The memory flashed before her eyes.

_"Let him go!" Kagome screamed, pounding helplessly on Naraku's back. The demon turned and smiled at her, and it was not a friendly look._

_"Oh, Kagome, you naïve girl.__ Did you really even think this half-breed loved you? Did you think that when you had completed the sacred Shikon no Tama that he would give it willingly to you?"_

_"Kagome—don't listen!" Inuyasha hissed. He was kneeling on the ground, doubled over in pain, his eyes squeezed shut against the blood and sweat on his face. A pool of blood had formed around him, dripping from the gaping wound in his stomach. She couldn't check it to see how bad it was yet. It looked worse than anything she could remember him surviving._

_"Don't be a fool, Kagome," Naraku sneered, drawing her attention back to him. "The hanyou planned to gather the pieces of the jewel and use it to turn himself into a demon. You remember his demon form, don't you, Kagome? How he tried to kill you, not even recognizing you? He would turn himself into a demon, kill you, and never think about you again."_

_"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Inuyasha howled. The look on his face was a mix of pain and rage. She wasn't sure if the pain was just from the wounds he was suffering from or the allegations Naraku was making._

_Naraku seemed very amused with this display. "You are near death, Inuyasha. You might as well let me take it the rest of the way…"_

_"Kagome…" Inuyasha whispered, clutching his stomach._

_Kagome turned her face away. The look in his eyes was too much to bear. Then she saw it…there in the dirt…_

_The priestess's arrow._

_She looked back at Naraku, who was advancing towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha tried to stand, but slipped again, finding himself too weak to fight back. Since the demon's attention was focused on Inuyasha, away from her, Kagome started towards it._

_"The day of reckoning has finally come, Inuyasha," Naraku said, raising his arm to strike._

_"No…" Kagome slammed the arrow into his back. "DIE!" A blast of purple light went through Naraku's body. He disintegrated, and the light moved farther out, enveloping Inuyasha._

_"INUYASHA!"__ Kagome screamed._

_"Kagome!"__ The cry was swallowed up as Inuyasha disappeared into the light…_

Kagome blinked back tears that she hadn't realized had welled up in her eyes. She wiped them off her cheeks. That dream had been a fear of losing him, and all he had heard was the words "die" and "Inuyasha." _Oh, God,_ Kagome thought. He didn't know at all.

"Inuyasha…I wanted you to live," she whispered. The tears rolled unchecked down her cheeks and she cried for all it was worth, but it didn't change anything. She still felt just as terrible when she crawled into her soft, warm bed, exhausted from everything that had happened.

"Inuyasha?"

"Hmm?" Inuyasha said, setting up the pot to start dinner. He turned to find Shippo frowning at him. "What is it, Shippo?"

"Who's gonna take care of me now that Kagome's gone?" Shippo asked.

"I am," Inuyasha replied. He poured the water, vegetables, and meat in to make a stew big enough for the two of them.

"Oh," Shippo said. His form visibly drooped.

Inuyasha sighed. He couldn't see any reason looking back for the kitsune to want to live with him. He hadn't exactly been a great father figure for the boy the way Kagome had been a mother figure.

_Well, that's going to change,_ he thought firmly, stirring the mixture as they sat in silence. _And I'm going to prove it to him._

Shippo was moping. Kagome had abandoned him. She'd left him here, probably thinking someone was going to take care of him. Going over it now, Shippo realized that there was no one to take care of him. Kaede-sama was too old to raise a child, even if she wanted to. Sango would have been his first choice—after all, she had Kirara—but she had left the previous morning to return to her old profession of demon-slaying. Miroku…well, a kid would cramp his lifestyle. Inuyasha was the only one left. And Inuyasha hated him.

"I've been thinking," Inuyasha said, breaking the silence between them, his eyes still on their dinner. "I'm going to build us a house in the village. Then you can be close to Kaede and the friends you've made here. I'm sure Sango and Miroku will visit every so often, and Kagome if she wants to come back…not that she probably will; I don't want to get your hopes up and disappoint you. Anyway, it will be easier if we stay in one place. And besides, we've proved ourselves to the people here. I don't want to press our luck anywhere else."

"Because we're demons?" Shippo inquired.

Here Inuyasha paused, then started up again. "Because _you're_ a demon, Shippo," he corrected him softly. "I'm nothing but a half-demon."

"You're more powerful than most of the full demons…"

"Feh." Inuyasha shrugged. "Anyway, getting back to my point, I'm going to try to make you comfortable here. Maybe you can live a normal life again. I know I'm not your father, and I won't pretend to be, but you deserve to be able to have a home and friends like every other child. This running around, fighting demons, looking for Shikon shards…it's not a healthy lifestyle. Maybe we can get you educated. I can read, so I can teach you that…I don't know what else to teach you. Mathematics, I suppose."

"Why are you being so nice to me?" Shippo asked suddenly.

Inuyasha looked up at him in surprise. "What do you mean?"

"You hate me. Why're you being nice?"

"I don't hate—" Inuyasha broke off, seeing the tears in Shippo's eyes. He set down his spoon and knelt in front of the fox demon. "Look, I know I've never exactly been nice to you. I know you probably think I'm a big jerk—no, I'll correct that. You know I'm a big jerk, and I know it now, too."

Shippo giggled a little, sniffing still.

"A smile. That's better." Inuyasha sighed. "It's not exactly an easy time for either one of us. We both miss Kagome. Kagome's always made sure you were safe. She's gone. Someone has to do it."

"So you're taking care of me because you have to?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "If you remember, when you first came with us, I wanted to leave you to fend for yourself. I feel like I _have_ to take care of you now because I _want_ to make sure you're safe. I could easily find an orphanage, or some lonely woman in a distant village to take care of you, but I'd rather keep you here. If that's what you want."

"I'll…stay here," Shippo muttered.

"Good." He turned back to the food. "I hope I know what I'm getting myself into…I have no idea how to really take care of a kid…"

"How did your dad take care of you?"

"I…really don't remember my father very well." A thoughtful look came to his face. "My mother used to play with me, cook food for me, and make sure I got to bed okay…that kind of stuff."

"It doesn't sound too hard."

"No." Inuyasha filled a bowl up and handed it to Shippo. "But we didn't get off to a good start together. I know you'd much rather be with Kagome than with me, and I can't change that. But I'm willing to give it a try. After all, it's my fault she's gone."

"But you don't want her to be gone. It can't be entirely your fault."

"It is." When Shippo didn't seem to be convinced, Inuyasha shook his head. "I'll explain it to you when you're older. It's complicated."

"All the sudden everything seems so complicated," Shippo said moodily, stirring his stew with a finger.

"It can get that way." Inuyasha lifted his own bowl to his mouth. _But I'll simplify it for you the best I can,_ he thought, watching the kitsune sample his food.

"Tastes good," Shippo admitted, taking another bite. "I didn't know you could cook."

"Neither did I," Inuyasha said, smirking.

Kagome stepped hesitantly into the principal's office. "Ma'am?" she said.

"Higurashi." The principal frowned at her seriously. "Take a seat."

Kagome sat in the chair in front of the principal's desk, placing her backpack on her lap.

"Higurashi, you have missed a complete three months of school this year," the principal said firmly. "With this kind of record, it will be very hard to pass you on to the next grade."

"Yes, ma'am," Kagome mumbled, her heart sinking. She had suspected this would come. Oh, well. The days of shard-hunting with Inuyasha and the others were over…for better or for worse.

"Your frequent illnesses have the teachers and students worried. Is everything alright at home?" she asked seriously.

Kagome started. "Oh, evertyhing's wonderful at home! It's nothing like that!"

The principal didn't look convinced. "You can continue out the school year, or what's left of it, but I'm almost sure you'll have to re-take the grade."

"I understand."

"Hm. Go on to your lunch break."

"Thank you, ma'am." Kagome slipped out the door.

They hadn't gotten a chance to talk to her in the morning. So as soon as she sat down at her usual spot at the cafeteria table, Kagome's friends assaulted her with questions. Much as her mother, grandfather, and Souta had. She could only smile stupidly and pray her grandfather hadn't told them she had syphilis or something worse.

"Kagome, when we called your house, your grandfather just said you were in the hopsital and wouldn't tell us what was wrong!" Ayumi exclaimed.

"Yeah, why were you sick for so long?"

Kagome would have sighed with relief if it wouldn't have made them suspicious. She could make up her own story. "I, uh, had mono."

"The kissing disease!" Eri gasped. "Were you kissing that one guy?"

"Oh, God, no," Kagome sighed. "We broke up."

"Broke up!" all three girls exclaimed as one.

"He got back together with his old girlfriend. We got into a huge fight and I left him."

"Oh, wow," Yuka gushed. "You poor thing."

"Yeah." Kagome grimaced when she saw Houjo coming to join them at their table. The boy was really nice, and the perfect guy, but…why did she always feel the urge to run and hide behind a door whenever he came her direction? It wasn't even being nervous. Hojou was just…not her type.

"Kagome, I'm glad to see you're well," Hojo said enthusiastcially.

She really wasn't well, not mentally, anyway, but she forced a smile and said, "Thanks."

"I didn't know why you were sick, so I couldn't bring you any medications." He seemed worried.

"Uh, that's okay. I think we've got it covered."

"If you're feeling up to it, I'd wondered if you wanted to go for dinner and a movie," Houjo said.

_Right to the point,_ Kagome thought. "Er, sure, I'd love to," she fibbed.

"Great! I'll pick you up around seven!" he said, smiling.

"Uh, where were you taking me?"

"It'll be a surprise," he assured her. "I've got to go study now. Bye-bye."

Kagome sighed. The last thing she wanted right now was Houjo trying to court her. She wanted to be miserable over Inuyasha, not try to be happy with Houjo. He was so…happy. So perfect. _So like me,_ she thought. No, Kagome wasn't truly as happy as she pretended to be, even tried to be. Her father's death had hit her harder than she wanted to admit. Life had been good otherwise, unitl Inuyasha came in…

But she'd made a commitment now and she couldn't back out of it. Sighing again, she slumped down onto the lunch table.

Bwahahahaha, they're both miserable. Don't worry, things will patch up sometime or another. I have tons of ideas floating around in my head and I don't really know how long the story will be. It will be a minimum of 15 chapters, but probably 20 chapters at maximum.

IF YOU DO NOT REVIEW, I WILL CUT OFF YOUR EARS AND FEED THEM TO MY KITTEN, WHO WILL CHEW THEM UP AND SPIT THEM OUT AND ADD THEM TO HER COLLECTION! SO THERE:-P

THIS IS THE REVIEW BUTTON. CLICK IT. TYPE IN A REVIEW. SEND THE REVIEW. EXIT SCREEN. DO IT!


	12. Family Ties

- All the pretty reviews…YOU ARE MINE, MY PRETTIES, ALL MINE! I am so loved…I can actually hardly believe all the reviews I've been getting lately. Chapter Nine got 21 reviews by itself. OO Mind-boggling. Maybe I can get my vampire novel published after all.

None of my other stories get any reviews; I don't know what's so special about this one, but I like it! I've been thinking about making my Gundam Wing one-shot, Red Christmas, into a chapter fic, or making a sequel or something…to write or not to write? Oh, what a question…

Hmm. Now that I've got that out of my system…I have nothing good to say, do I? Oh! I know! I'll start talkin' to my reviewers. Heehee, fun. (Sorry, I just drank some Mountain Dew, God help us all.)

Branch of tree la, you reek of awesomeness. Nice to know you'll never flame anyone again. XD. That means I'm doing good. But sometimes soon this angst all has to come to some happy conclusion…eventually. Right now I'm enjoying myself too much.

Silver Moon Midnight Skies…it's not really my place to forgive you, but I appreciate you apologizing to branch of tree la. Thanks for still reviewing and everything.

Bus Buddie, you crack me up. Sorry 'bout your cat…my kitten, Avalon, is also gray—she's a gray tabby with a white belly, white chin, and white paws. She's SO cute. I love her. Right now she is curled up in my lap…gosh, if my brother had asthma, I'd kill him instead of getting rid of the kitten.

For the rest of you reviewers, you can keep your ears. For those who didn't review, Avalon has much enjoyed munching on your earlobes and spitting them out. Hmm…I counted five ears. FIVE! You creeps! You didn't love me enough to review me…sniff sniff…but that is fine…I have my revenge…and a few eyebrows sitting in my stomach from two chapters or so ago…

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I think you figured that out about ten chapters ago. If I was receiving money for this, I would not be baby-sitting to get my money. NO SUE! . 

Chapter 12

Family Ties

Construction started the very next morning.

A surprising number of villagers had volunteered to help Inuyasha build his house. He was still used to the social stigma that came with being half-demon. Since he wasn't in the village a whole lot, he hadn't paid enough attention to realize they had all changed their minds about him.

They had _very _much changed their minds about him. Instead of hissing half-breed as they had fifty years earlier, they were now calling him "Inuyasha-sama." Although he had refused the title, blushing a little, they had insisted upon it. He had rescued their village, aided Kaede, and brought the priestess Kagome back safely time and time again. Inuyasha was now worthy of their praise.

_Maybe things are changing for the better,_ he thought, hoisting another log up. Shippo was slowly warming up to him, and Inuyasha was surprised that he actually liked the fox-demon. He was thoughtful, adorably mischievous, and very intelligent for his age. He didn't know how he could have missed it before. Maybe he was jealous that Kagome's attention went to Shippo instead of her. Well, it was no reason for him to act be a jerk, and he saw the error of his ways now. He was going to make it up to Shippo.

Inuyasha's house was going to be slightly bigger than all of the other houses in the village. Most of them had one or two rooms, but Inuyasha was making three. He'd decided that Shippo should have a separate room. When he got older, he'd want his privacy anyway. The room in-between the bedrooms had a cooking area and a sitting area, and he had asked a traveling merchant to get him some school books. He had designed a small, crude shelf to go in the sitting area.

When the humans took their lunch break, Inuyasha walked over to Kaede's hut to sit down. He looked out at his house, already half-completed. It wasn't in his dreams or plans to settle down and build a house, but now that it had come…well, he really didn't mind the idea. Actually, he kind of liked it.

A tap on the shoulder surprised him. When he turned his head, he saw Shippo holding a bowl in his tiny hands. "It's for you," he said, a little shyly.

Inuyasha stared for a couple seconds, then smiled. "Thanks," he said, accepting the bowl. "Did you make it yourself?"

"Yeah." Shippo sat down next to him. "The house is almost finished."

"Mm-hmm. I'd been planning on building it myself. I'd thought it would take a week, at least." He at some of the rice Shippo had given him. "At this rate, we can move in tonight."

"That's good."

"I know it's probably not as nice as the house you and your parents lived in, but it's what I can afford." _I could afford more, _he thought, _if Sesshomaru had ever let me touch the money my father left for me. _But that would happen when hell froze over. What was the point in trying?

"Are we still looking for jewel shards?" Shippo asked.

The question surprised Inuyasha. He'd thought the answer was obvious. "No," he said. "Kagome was the only one who could sense the shards. She's gone with her pieces of it. Our quest is ended."

"Do you think Miroku and Sango are still going after Naraku?"

"I think they both want to, but they feel like they can't by themselves."

"They could go together," Shippo pointed out. "Then they wouldn't be alone."

Inuyasha shook his head. "Miroku and Sango aren't going to join forces. Each one thinks the other doesn't want to do it, so they aren't going to waste time asking."

"That's stupid," Shippo muttered.

"Yes, it is." Inuyasha continued eating. "Kagome was the only thing that held the other four of us together. Now that she's gone, we've gone our separate ways."

"I'm still here with you."

"Yes, but I don't know if you would have stayed if you had any other choice."

Shippo frowned. "I probably would have left at first."

"But?" Inuyasha prompted him.

"I dunno. You're different now. I think I wanna stay."

"I'm glad," Inuyasha said, eating the last of the rice. He handed the empty bowl to Shippo. "It was good. Thanks for making it."

"It's fine," Shippo said, but he looked pleased with himself.

Inuyasha got back up to continue building. Kagome had always told him that if he had ever made an effort, he and Shippo would get along. He hadn't believed her, hadn't even been willing to try. Until she was gone. What would she say if she could see the two of them now?

Kagome brushed her hair and studied her reflection in the mirror. She wore a short blue dress, cut off at the knees. The sleeves were spaghetti-strapped. She didn't normally wear spaghetti straps because it was so hard to wear strapless bras. She had opted for a bra with clear straps this time, so it didn't look tacky and it didn't keep sliding down off of her.

She couldn't remember the last time she had looked that attractive. It made her wonder what Inuyasha would think if he could see her now. He'd probably complain about her choice of perfume, though. She should try to forget him, try to forget…

Kagome reached for a pair of earrings and pushed them into her ears. Inuyasha would get on fine without her, and if he didn't, he probably deserved to suffer anyway. Sango and Miroku could take care of themselves. A thought sprang to mind. Who was taking care of Shippo?

"Shit," she swore out loud, a hand flying to her mouth. She had been the only one taking care of him before. She hadn't even been able to say good-bye to him, or make arrangements for someone to care for him. What was happening to him now? Had Sango or Miroku taken him?

No—they'd be going on hunting Naraku. Sango for revenge, Miroku to end a curse. Inuyasha had probably left to go somewhere else—since he couldn't get the entire Shikon no Tama, he had no use going after Naraku's piece. And Kaede…well, Kaede had no idea how to take care of a child; she'd never had one. And besides that, she was too old to raise Shippo. He was only eight; Kaede was seventy.

Who could possibly be taking care of Shippo?

_Calm down,_ she told herself, vaguely aware that her eyes were wide and frightened_. It's not like they'd just abandon him. He's got to be with someone somewhere._ But how could she know for sure?

A knock on the door. "Who is it?" she asked.

"It's your mother, dear. Houjo is here to pick you up."

"O-okay, thanks," Kagome called.

"Don't stay out too late."

Kagome sighed. Her mother had been a nervous wreck until she had come back from the Feudal Era (by all physical appearances) unscathed. Mrs. Higurashi had been pretty calm overall about Kagome's visits to Inuyasha's world, but this time she had been hysterical. The second Kagome walked through that door, she felt Mrs. Higurashi's arms around her, holding her tightly, crying her eyes out. She had thought she'd never come back again.

The well had been sealed off. Inuyasha couldn't lay a hand on her now. He would never be able to come through the well again. Somehow, the thought made her heart feel heavy. She had enjoyed her time with him, traveling through all the villages…even those times when he had become stubborn hadn't been that bad.

If could have been perfect…if that damn rosary hadn't broken. It meant she couldn't trust Inuyasha has she had thought she could. She'd always thought that part of him had grown fond of her, that he would never really hurt her. The truth had hurt her, proven her horribly wrong. She chewed her lip. She should have known. Should have known all along that he hadn't changed since the day he first used his claws against her, trying to get the Shikon no Tama away from her.

It was the new moon, she realized suddenly, looking at the calendar. Inuyasha was turning into a human tonight…funny how his most vulnerable night was the night she finally gave in and dated another guy.

She couldn't go back now to check on Shippo. She'd have to wait until night…yes. Wait until night, when Inuyasha was human, to go to Kaede and find out where he was. She could take him back with her if he was alone. If he was touching her when she went through the well, he could travel it, too.

Kagome picked up her purse and started out the door. "Bye, Mom!" she called as she raced down the stairs. As she descended, she found Houjo at the bottom of the steps, smiling at her.

"You look nice, Kagome," he stated. His eyes seemed to linger on her a little more than she liked.

"Uh, thanks. I've had this sitting around in my closet."

"But it looks so wonderful on you. It would be a shame not to wear it!" Houjo protested.

Kagome felt her cheeks redden in a gentle blush. Houjo always knew precisely the right thing to say. How was it possible such a perfect man could exist? He was the exact opposite of Inuyasha…kind, understanding, compassionate…he complimented her clothes when Inuyasha didn't even bother looking at them. He probably liked the way she smelled, when Inuyasha complained of her "stench."

_Why do I want to get away from him?_ Kagome wondered, taking Houjo's hand as he led her out the door to his car. _Why do I hate being around Houjo? I should be falling head-over-heels for him. Why do I only think of Inuyasha when I see him?_

_I should hate Inuyasha._

"Ready," Inuyasha said, collapsing on the floor in the sitting room. "Damn, I'm tired."

"You don't require any more assistance, Inuyasha-sama?" one of the volunteers asked.

"Don't sweat it," he said, waving it off. "You guys have done more than enough already. Shippo and I will be able to sleep in our house tonight."

Our_ house…tonight. _Inuyasha bowed his head at the village men as they exited his house to return to their own homes. It was probably six in the evening already, and tonight was the night of the new moon. He'd be inside and protected for once, but he wouldn't sleep.

He couldn't remember even sleeping during the new moon when he was a small child. It had always scared him to be made suddenly weak and vulnerable, a mere human. Back then he hadn't thought of them as necessarily inferior to him. But the thought of being weaker than before wasn't a pleasant one. It was like feeling sick. It was different, uncomfortable.

Shippo came bouncing in. His stuffed fox was under his arm. "Is my room done?" he asked excitedly.

"Yep," Inuyasha said. He nodded his head towards one of the rooms. "We got your futon set up and everything."

"Alright!" He was running to the room already. Apparently he wanted to check it out—he hadn't had his own room since before his parents died. Inuyasha chuckled. Shippo's enthusiasm was contagious, even if he was tired. This was going to be hell on his human body. And it was only another hour or two before the sun disappeared and his powers went with it.

_But they'll be back by sunrise,_ he thought, closing his eyes. They always were.

Kikyo handed Sesshomaru the vial. "That's it."

He inspected it closely. It was nothing impressive. The vial was plain glass, small enough to fit in his palm easily, with a cork stopping the pink liquid inside from pouring out. "This little thing will be Inuyasha's undoing?"

"Yes…if you succeed," Kikyo said, meeting his eyes.

He managed not to flinch or blink against her gaze, but it was hard. "What do I need to do with it?"

"Inuyasha will be human when you approach him. Human and vulnerable." She brushed her fingertips over the glass, inadvertently touching Sesshomaru's hand. "This needs to come into contact with his skin. Once it does that, it will make him human forever. You can steal Testusaiga easily. He probably won't come back for it. He'll be too weak to do so, and I don't imagine he'll have any use for it anyway."

"But if he does come back, it will take nothing to kill him," Sesshomaru murmured.

"It's not a difficult task. And Inuyasha never expected me to help you." She smiled. "But that's why you sought me out, isn't it?"

He chose to ignore the question, although the answer to it was yes. "Did you plan to come with me?"

"The damage I wanted to see done to him is done. What you do is none of my concern." She started to turn, but she was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.

He leaned in closer to her. "I would be honored…if you would come with me to witness Inuyasha's defeat."

Kikyo's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Your courtly words are tempting, but I don't see how I can be of any use to you."

"Wouldn't it kill him to know you hated him enough to help me like this?" Sesshomaru pressed.

"You don't want me with you to hurt Inuyasha," Kikyo said bluntly. "You are making excuses to keep me with you."

"Perhaps so, but you can't say it wouldn't be interesting to see how he takes this betrayal." He kept his eyes on her face, unblinking, unmoving. Waiting for her decision.

Something in Kikyo's eyes wavered, then she moved his hand from her shoulder. "It would be my pleasure…to join you," she said softly.

Kagome sat through the movie with her chin in her hand. She was bored. Houjo had chosen a cheesy chick flick to go see together, and she was not the least bit thrilled. All chick flicks were the same as the last one. There was no diversity, no flavor, no surprise, and therefore, no entertainment.

Thinking it through, instead of watching the movie, Kagome couldn't remember the last time she had sat down at watched a movie. She did it less and less often now. After all, she'd spent most of her time in the Feudal Era, and they didn't have movies there. Really, there had only been a few movies she enjoyed all throughout her life. Good movies were so hard to come by.

Houjo seemed more happy about the movie. His eyes were turned to the screen, his fingers entwined with hers. He didn't seem to notice the other hand was the only thing holding up her head. He didn't know she wasn't enjoying herself. He didn't know she was worried about a fox-demon child all alone in another world 400 years into the past that she reached jumping through a well where she had been collecting magic jewel shards for a half-demon carrying a big sword who she was desperately in love with until his girlfriend came back from the dead and ruined it all—and quite frankly, if she told him, he would think she was developing psychosis on top of all of her other mental illnesses.

He'd taken her to a nice dinner at one of the most romantic (and expensive) restaurants in town. He'd taken her to a movie he thought she'd enjoy. She wasn't feeling romantic. She wasn't enjoying herself. She didn't love him. It was as simple as that. And she knew he felt quite differently about her, but…

_But nothing,_ she thought savagely. _You're wasting your time with Inuyasha when you had the perfect guy all along, waiting right here at home. In the twenty-first century! Where you're supposed to live. Not out wasting your time waiting around for some grumpy hanyou to profess his undying love for you—_

Her thoughts were interrupted by a shower of applause. The end credits were on. As Houjo stood up, he smiled down at her. "Wasn't that a great movie?"

"Er, yeah," she mumbled. "Really…really great movie…" _Not that I saw any of it,_ she added silently.

Houjo chattered all the way back to the car about his favorite scenes in the movie, the famous actress's new hair color, the emotional break-up scene that she seemed to have totally missed…and he chattered even more on the trip home, never seeming to realize she was not responding to him except for a weak nod or smile every so often.

As he put the car into park in front of her house, he turned to smile at her. "I had a really great time tonight," he said brightly.

_I didn't,_ she thought. "Yeah, so did I."

Then he leaned in. His eyes were closed, his lips slightly parted. The moment he had probably been planning all night. She let him kiss her, nothing more than a brush of lips, then pulled back. A little too quickly.

Houjo blinked, looking hurt. "Kagome, don't you like me?"

"No, it's not that. It's just—" A thought occurred to her. "Um, Houjo, I'm not so sure you're not gay."

Houjo laughed. "Gay? Don't be silly. I'm not gay." He frowned then. "Are you?"

"No." She sighed, clasping her hands in her lap and staring at them. "I just…"

"Don't like me." When she looked up, he was staring ahead, looking sullen. "That's okay. I understand."

"I tried," she said weakly. "I mean, I know any girl would want to date you. God knows every girl in the school is after you."

"Kagome, don't try to make me feel better. I'll be alright, really." He smiled then. "After all, if you don't like me, there must be some other girl out there who's right for me."

"I'm really sorry."

"There's more, though," he said. "There's another guy, isn't there?"

"Yes. And that's the stupid thing." She stared at the ceiling and let out a long sigh. "He's not…like most people, I guess. He's rude, uncivilized, egotistical, and he can never admit something is his fault. He never even admits he has deep feelings about anything. He just…ignores it all. Pushes it all away."

"You must really love him," Houjo said.

"Love him?" Kagome repeated, staring at him in surprise.

"If he's that bad and you still think about him all the time, you must really love him." Houjo shrugged. "He'll probably come around, admit that he's wrong sometimes. And I'm sure he must love you back."

"W-what makes you so sure?" Kagome asked.

"Well, who wouldn't?" he asked. "Let's see, you're kind, understanding, compassionate…you have a beautiful smile. And you're one of the prettiest girls in the whole school."

"I am not."

"You are!" They met each other's gaze, both smiled. "If I can be nothing more than your friend," Houjo went on, "I'll just be your friend. And if I'm your friend, I want you to be happy with this guy."

"I should have known you'd understand," Kagome said with a grin. She reached out and hugged him. "You are a good friend, Houjo."

"Thanks. You are, too."

She pulled back, opened the door. "Thanks for the date—and for the conversation."

"See you later."

"Bye!" She waved until Houjo had pulled completely out of the driveway and the car had disappeared from view. She was already sure of what she was going to do. She set her gaze upon the well and started towards it, ready to go find Shippo and make sure he was safe.

Ooh, what will Kagome find when she goes to find Shippo? Will Sesshomaru and Kikyo succeed in turning Inuyasha into a human? What does Inuyasha think about Kagome coming back? What does he think about his brother and ex-girlfriend's evil plan? What WILL happen? FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER INSTEAD OF LISTENING TO ME ASK YOU THE QUESTIONS!

The review button is below, and if you do not hit it and type me a nice little message, I shall be very upset. And I shall light a firework under your lazy butt and watch the pretty sparks fly as you say "ow ow ow ow" over and over again and I laugh at your stupidness. REVIEW!


	13. Confrontations and Betrayals

Whoo-hoo! I'm so happy! Sorry it took so long to update. I got twelve reviews on the first day…but only a few afterwards. Ah, well, the reviews are looking GREAT…150 reviews so far. Geez. I remember when I only had four. Well, things change, and sometimes for the better…BTW, people, while I'm thinking about it, check out my friend branch of tree la's stuff. Her story 300 Years made me cry…and her story Cruel and Unusual Humor made me cry, too, but those were just tears of laughter. Branch of tree la is on my fave author's list for a link.

Anyway, I figure now is as good a time as any to update, seeing as it's the weekend. I just started my junior year of high school…gah, summer ends so quickly. Not that I was exactly working on my tan. They don't call me "the vampire" because I drink blood…and NO, I do not drink blood! That was the point I was trying to make there…they call me a vampire because I'm so PALE, just for anyone who couldn't figure it out from the tanning comment. The things I do to explain myself…but anyway, I'll miss the free time I had to spend on this site.

Anyway, can't wait for the reviews. Not only do they make me feel special (-), but they let me know how people like my writing. As I have mentioned before, I also write original work and I would like to get it published. So prove to me that I'm good enough to make it to the best-seller list and REVIEW!

Or if I'm not good enough, review anyway and tell me so…I can take a flame or two… imagines flames pouring in ;;; Stupid me…I screwed that one up, didn't I? Oh, well, if you don't like my story, tell me so, and tell me why.

Light language warning...but don't run. Mild fluff warning, too, but I wouldn't quite call the situation resolved…you'll see what I mean.

Chapter 13 (Ooh, who's superstitious? Not me…)

Confrontations and Betrayals

Kagome climbed out of the well into the moist night air of the Sengoku Jidai. Looking up, she could clearly see the stars. You couldn't see them in Tokyo…the city lights were just too bright, and they blocked them out.

It was one of the things she was always going to miss about the Feudal Era.

The path to Kaede's village was so familiar that it didn't take much thought to walk it. The village looked almost exactly the same…almost. At the edge of the forest, she could see a new house, bigger than most of the others. At first she couldn't think how a house could have been built that quickly without her knowing, then decided that a merchant must have moved in and hired help to build. It was none of her concern, anyway. She just needed to grab Shippo and head back.

_Mom and Souta won't mind having another kid around the house,_ she thought, making her way to Kaede's hut. _Yeah, it'll be just like having a little brother…except he has a fluffy tail. And he can use fox illusions. _She grimaced. _Okay, I can see where this might not turn out very well…_

But if Shippo had, as she suspected he would, stayed at Kaede's hut, it wouldn't be an easy life for him. He would almost have to raise himself. It wasn't fair. And in her world, he could be educated. There were no demons, no battles in the city, less illnesses, and more food. He would be much better off with her.

She ducked into the doorway. "Kaede?" she whispered.

The sound of someone rising off of a futon came from the corner of the dark room. Kaede stood up slowly. "Kagome, is that ye?"

"Y-yeah." She swallowed. "Sorry I didn't come and say goodbye, but—"

"I know ye felt ye had no choice. It is Shippo who might need those words." Even in the dark, Kagome knew there was a solemn look on Kaede's face.

Kagome hesitated. "I came back to get Shippo. I'm taking him back to my world with me."

"That may prove to be difficult."

"Why? Where is he?" Kagome demanded, alarm rising.

"Do not be so upset, Kagome," Kaede said. She moved to the door and pointed out. At the new house by the forest. "Inuyasha took it upon himself to finish raising Shippo. He thought ye would not return for him."

"Inuyasha took Shippo?" Kagome said weakly.

"Inuyasha realized, as I imagine ye did when you returned, that I was too old to care for Shippo. There is no telling how much time I have left. Sango and Miroku are not capable now of taking in a child. Inuyasha realized his search for the Shikon no Tama was proving fruitless."

"So he's settled down?" She stared at the house. "But…why?"

"I suppose Inuyasha and Shippo were both lonely. Inuyasha only has his brother for family. Shippo had only ye, Kagome, and ye left. Taking care of Shippo may serve as a means of keeping from hurting for him."

Kagome was silent, looking down. Had it been true…what Inuyasha had said? Did he love her? Or was that just a lie, made to confuse her? It surprised her that he would take care of Shippo—surprised her a lot. He had hated Shippo…right? Did anything Inuyasha do make sense?

"I think ye should talk to him," Kaede said, as if she could read her mind. Kagome stared at the old woman, a confused look on her face. "Inuyasha sees that he was wrong. He has admitted it. Ye know him well enough to know how rare that is. I suspect he would change for ye much as he has changed for Shippo. He cares for ye, Kagome, and he always has, even if he never showed it."

"How could he forgive me for…for what I said to him?" Kagome whispered. "I said…most awful thing. I said he was a half-breed."

"Not tonight," Kaede said.

Kagome looked up. No moon in the sky. "Do you think he loves me?" she asked softly, barely daring to suggest it.

"I think…that is a question ye will have to ask Inuyasha himself," Kaede said. "Perhaps the one ye should ask now is, do ye love him?"

She hesitated…she had never said it out loud before, but… "Yes."

"Then tell him. Now, while you still have the chance."

Kagome didn't need to be told a second time. She ran to the house…ran to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha ran his fingers through his hair irritably. Black, silky hair, the color of every other human in the village. Even though it had marked him as an outcast, he rather liked the silver shade of his hair in hanyou form. He knew his eyes were not their normal golden shade, either. He was human. Vulnerable, weak. The real humans were used to it, but it wasn't comfortable for him. He couldn't pull it off.

Shippo was asleep in the other room. Probably clutching that stuffed fox. Inuyasha yawned. He couldn't go to sleep himself, not tonight. The morning might find him dead.

His human ears were just barely sharp enough to detect sounds outside. Someone came through the door. That silhouette…no, it couldn't be…

Blue eyes turned on him. "I see you're still up."

It was. "Kagome…" He looked away from her. It hurt to have her here. It hurt to be reminded that the wounds were still there.

She glanced around. "Where's Shippo?"

"In his room, sleeping." Inuyasha sat down on the floor. "If you came to take him back, just do it. He's seemed to have warmed up to me, but he'd still rather be with you." He shrugged. "Not fair, anyway…I knew it wouldn't last…"

Kagome seemed to hesitate before sitting down on the floor, a few feet across from Inuyasha. "Do you want Shippo to stay with you?"

"If I hadn't wanted him here, I wouldn't have built the house," Inuyasha stated flatly. "I might've cared enough to stick him with some village family before making my way to wherever, but I wouldn't have invited him to live with me. For obvious reasons, chances of me having my own kids are slim anyway."

"Are these 'obvious reasons' you won't have kids my fault?"

"No! They're mine." He looked up at her. His eyes were brown, human. She couldn't get used to seeing him as a human. Inuyasha seemed uncomfortable, and it might just have been the new moon, but it probably had something to do with her, too. "I ruined all of my chances," Inuyasha continued. "When the rosary broke, I shouldn't have acted the way I did. It should have been my chance to prove myself…to prove that you didn't need the 'sit' spell to trust me. All I proved is I'm a big jackass. None of this ever should have happened, and I'm sorry."

"This isn't all your fault!" Kagome blurted. "I mean, I said some things…things that I shouldn't have! Things I didn't even mean…oh, Inuyasha, I never meant to call you a half-breed."

He shrugged. "That's what I am."

"But it was rude."

"It was nothing compared to what happened to you." He reached for her hand. She pulled back at first, then relaxed. Inuyasha lifted her hand, turning it over and stroking his fingers down her wrist. "Completely healed. Was that your medicine?"

She felt a lump in her throat. She knew it was jumping the gun, but she wanted his hands to be on her waist. She wanted to kiss him. "No. I healed it."

"With your powers," he muttered.

"Yeah."

Inuyasha released her hand, letting it drop in her lap. "You were right. Kikyo couldn't have done that."

She looked down. "I should have told you…that I was developing them."

"No, you shouldn't have. It wasn't any of my business." He pulled his knees up to his chest, hugging himself. "If I had behaved like I was supposed to, I would never have had to know that you had them."

"Inuyasha…" She sighed. "This is too much. You acting like this."

"Would you rather me pretend nothing had happened?" he pressed. "Because it would be fairly easy to do that. I just decided I was tired of lying. It's not the example I want to set for Shippo."

Kagome felt the grin coming and couldn't fight it. She covered her mouth with both hands to stifle the giggles.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her, his eyes suspicious, as if he thought she were making fun of him. It was a comical face; thinking that in hanyou form he'd probably be flattening his ears made it even funnier. "What?"

"Sorry," she gasped between giggles. "It's just you, a family man. I'd never thought I'd see you acting like this." She burst again into laughter.

A smile was creeping its way across Inuyasha's face now. "Yeah, it's gonna take a while to get used to. I might screw up a few times before I get it just right."

"Or you could make it your alter ego," Kagome suggested. "But then you'd need a second name to go with that side of your personality…"

"Does Nekoyasha sound okay to you?" He looked so serious that Kagome burst out laughing again. Both of them doubled over, trying to stifle their laughter to keep Shippo from waking up.

It seemed too strange…Inuyasha acting this way. It was all she had ever wanted, for him to enjoy being with her…to enjoy being with him. The laughter started to turn into sobs. Kagome tried to hide it, but the tears just kept coming…

"Kagome, what's wrong?" Inuyasha sounded alarmed. She felt his hands on her wrists, trying to pull her hands back from her face as gently as he could.

"Why does it have to be like this?" she sniffed, looking into his eyes, now violet-blue. "Just as soon as you start acting the way I'd always wanted you to act, everything's too screwed up to piece it back together."

"To piece what back together?" Inuyasha shifted so that he was closer to her, brushed his fingers against her cheek. His touch was cool and soothing against the hot tears. "Our friendship? Is that what you think is screwed up now?"

"We were never friends, Inuyasha," Kagome whispered.

He looked hurt. "I thought we were."

"So did I, but I was only kidding myself." She looked down, away from his face, but she didn't push his hand away. He was stroking her cheek gently, and it felt nice. "I wanted so much to be close to you that I would never admit to myself that you wanted the same thing. The only reason you even put up with me was because you needed my help. Our relationship should have been professional and nothing else…and if I hadn't gone and gotten my hopes up, none of this would have happened."

"You weren't listening to me at all, Kagome." The half-suppressed pain in his voice made her look up. He wasn't crying yet, but his eyes were glistening with unshed tears. "Just before you left, I told you I loved you. I wasn't just trying to keep you here hunting down Shikon shards. I meant what I said."

"Do you always mean what you say?" she demanded, eyes still brimming with tears. "Do you always say what you mean?"

Inuyasha felt a lump in his throat and swallowed it. "No," he admitted. "I don't."

"Then how am I supposed to know what's the truth and what's the lie?" She wrapped her arms around herself. "You told me once…no, several times…that my stench was unbearable. You told me I wasn't as good as Kikyo. You told me I was no good, that I was worthless. Now you tell me you love me. Don't you understand, Inuyasha? Do you see why it's so hard for me to believe you?"

"Yeah. I get it," he said glumly. "I'd just been hoping that…well, maybe…"

"Maybe what?"

"Nothing." He stood up. "Forget about it. It was stupid anyway."

"Inuyasha!" she said exasperatedly. "Just tell me. Please."

"I don't even have a right to ask, Kagome. You'll probably be more content not knowing about it. It'll make it easier when you leave us again."

"When I leave you again?" she said.

He hesitated. "You were planning on going back home again, weren't you?"

"Why? Did you want me to?"

"Will you believe me when I answer?"

"Well…you did say you were tired of lying," she said slowly.

"You can't really prove that I wasn't lying then," Inuyasha said darkly.

"Look," Kagome sighed. "Enough of the mind games. I promise I'll believe you, whatever you say. Do you want me to leave again?"

It took a couple more seconds, and Kagome thought at first that he wasn't going to reply to her. Then he looked into her eyes. "No. I don't want you to leave."

Kagome felt her heart speed up, but she resisted it. It still wasn't a complete explanation. "Tell me why."

He sighed, and it was almost a growl. "I love you, damn it. I meant it then and I mean it now. Is that reason enough for you to stay? Or at least visit once in a while, when you're not doing your tests and all?"

The intensity in his tone was impressive. "Inuyasha…" she began.

"And…that was what I was going to ask. Something I have no right to even suggest. I was going to say that you could stay here with me. Shippo needs a mother figure. He misses you. He clings to that fox you got him all day long because he can smell you on it." He gave a short laugh. "Once or twice, when he wasn't looking, I snatched it up and did the same thing. Yes," he said at the mystified expression on her face. "I enjoy your scent. It was easier for me to deny it back then. Now that I've finally said it, my senses are gone…I can't smell a thing."

There was some hesitation in the movement, but she rose to stand directly across from him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "If I get close enough, will you be able to smell me?"

"Maybe," he said tentatively. "How close were you…?"

Kagome pulled him closer into an embrace. His arms slid around her waist and his face was resting on top of her head. Breathing in her scent. "Well?" she whispered.

"Not as strong," he murmured. "But yeah. It's still there."

"Well, well…isn't this touching?"

The voice jerked the two of them out of their embrace. It was Kikyo. Smirking.

"You," Inuyasha snarled. "You were not invited here."

"I invited myself, Inuyasha. Hadn't we two planned once to make a home together?" she prodded.

"A long, long time ago." He moved away from Kagome. "That time is past. I've moved on and so should you."

"The kiss you gave me suggests otherwise."

"I regret the kiss. Deep down, I was imagining you were someone else entirely."

"And yet on the surface, you were kissing me, not this other person." Kikyo stepped into the hut. "But it doesn't matter either way to me…your brother has been far better company than you have been, Inuyasha."

"My brother?" he said almost dumbly.

"You haven't forgotten me yet, have you, Inuyasha?" Another form entered the hut behind Kikyo. The white hair, golden eyes, the purple stripes on his cheeks…

"Sesshomaru, get out," Inuyasha growled.

"Do you intend to force me out, little brother?" Sesshomaru taunted him. "I'm a more powerful demon than you are…although you don't appear to be a demon at all." He took a closer look at Inuyasha. "Black hair and blue eyes. My, my, Inuyasha, you look more and more like your mortal mother every day."

"And you get uglier and uglier every day."

"Childish, of course." His gaze turned to Kagome. "Your mortal is back so soon?"

"She's not mine," Inuyasha said at the same time as Kagome said, "I'm not his."

"That was a peculiar embrace we caught the two of you in, for two who do not belong to each other." Kikyo's face was serious, not smiling anymore. "I had heard you slit your wrists, Kagome. Later, I heard it told that you had survived and left Inuyasha for your own world. Now you have returned to him with open arms?"

"Leave her alone!" Inuyasha snapped.

"You have not let the poor girl say a word in her defense, Kikyo," Sesshomaru said softly. "Or has she forgotten how to speak?"

"I haven't forgotten how to speak," Kagome replied. "You could say I'm too disgusted to speak."

She didn't even see him move. He was standing in front of her, his hand starting towards her face. At first she thought Sesshomaru would slap her, but he lifted her chin, inspecting her as if she was a hunting dog he was considering buying. "Hmm. You're braver than I had given you credit for."

"Sesshomaru, let her go," Inuyasha said.

"You're in no position to negotiate, Inuyasha. If you know what is good for you, you'll keep your mouth shut. Not that you were ever intelligent enough to take good advice, but there it stands."

"If _you_ knew what was good for you, Sesshomaru, you would let her go," Inuyasha stated.

"Are you threatening me, Inuyasha?"

"I'm just warning you."

"Maybe you should listen to what he says," Kagome suggested.

"While he is a mortal I have nothing to fear from him," Sesshomaru said impassively.

"That wasn't what I was talking about, but besides that, he's only a mortal for one night out of the month."

A rare smile played across Sesshomaru's lips. "And that, little mortal, is where you are wrong." He glanced back at Kikyo. "She's a feisty one. Do you think I should take her?"

"Enough, Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha took a step towards him.

"Inuyasha, such a fool." The tiny pink vial was out in an instant, uncorked. With a single motion, Sesshomaru had thrown it at Inuyasha. The liquid covered his face and upper torso.

Inuyasha blinked, then smirked. "That was your whole plan? To come in here and douse me with water?"

"When you wake up tomorrow, I fear you will not quite be yourself. The priestess will not be here to help you either." Sesshomaru now had a firm grip on Kagome's upper arm.

"Let me go."

"Take his sword from him. You are coming with me."

A fear filled Inuyasha's stomach…she had come here only for a short visit. Would she become Sesshomaru's slave now? Even with her new powers, could she save herself from Sesshomaru?

"Take the damn sword yourself," Kagome retorted. "I'm having no part in it."

Sesshomaru's eyes gleamed dangerously. "You're my servant now, girl. Take the sword…" He held up a clawed hand. "Or I will punish you."

"Sesshomaru, I'll give you the Tetsusaiga, just leave her alone," Inuyasha pleaded.

"What?" Kagome stared at Inuyasha in disbelief, her eyes round with amazement. He would give up the Tetsusaiga for her?

He really meant it. He really loved her.

"My servant will obey my orders." Sesshomaru was preparing to strike. So was Kagome.

She lashed out first. A flash of light erupted from her hand and moved through Sesshomaru's side. He let out a hiss, his hand feeling the bleeding spot.

"That was a warning," Kagome said firmly. "If you don't leave Inuyasha alone, there's more coming."

"I'll leave him alone. As soon as I have the sword, there will be no need for me to bother him!" A poison sprayed from his claws, not at Inuyasha, but at Kagome. She let out a shriek and jumped back, tripping. The poison hit her in the leg, melting part of the dress's skirt. She winced as it bit into the skin of her leg. Blood seeped from the injured flesh.

"An eye for an eye," Sesshomaru said, walking past her to Inuyasha.

An expression of pure rage was fixed upon Inuyasha's face. "You…you…"

"It will not kill her. It may take her a while, but I'm sure she can heal it with nothing but minor scarring. Unless…" Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "…you refused to give me the sword. Then I'll be sure to do more damage, slowly, until you hand it over to me. You did offer it for her protection, didn't you?"

"Inuyasha, don't worry about it—"

"Be silent, mortal."

"Here." Inuyasha pulled the Tetsusaiga from its place at his side and handed it to Sesshomaru with shaky hands. "Take it. Just don't hurt her."

Kagome's eyes were wide. "I-Inuyasha…but you'll turn into a full demon again…"

"I can guarantee he won't," Kikyo said softly. "Inuyasha will be a mortal for the rest of his life."

"What!" Inuyasha pivoted. "That's what you put in that potion!"

"So surprised, Inuyasha. So naïve at times."

"You bitch! You—you _betrayed _me!" His eyes were wide with horror. "You gave him the tools he needed to defeat me."

"I have what I came for. Enough of this drama." He held the Tetsusaiga carefully with his left arm, on which he probably had another human arm implanted.

"I'll be back for it!" Inuyasha shouted at Sesshomaru's retreating back. "I'll be back go get the Tetsusaiga again and you know it!"

Sesshomaru glanced over his shoulder. "But Inuyasha…you're nothing but a mortal."

It was the hard truth. And that seemed to wound him more than anything.

The noise had woken Shippo up. Apparently, the kitsune had been too frightened to enter the room at the time. But as soon as Sesshomaru and Kikyo had left, with the Tetsusaiga, he was inside hugging Kagome. While Kagome held the tiny fox-demon in her arms, Inuyasha checked on her leg.

"It melted your skirt," Inuyasha muttered. "We'll have to get you clothes."

"I'm not wearing Kikyo's old things," Kagome said darkly.

"I…really wasn't going to suggest that." He seemed a bit embarrassed. "You left one of your other outfits here."

"A school uniform?" she asked. He nodded. "Oh. I thought I had remembered them all…" She stopped. "Why are you blushing?"

"I, uh, kept it. It's in my room." The blush intensified.

It took her a moment to realize why he kept it. "Oh…" Now she was blushing too.

"Why're you red, Kagome?" Shippo asked, his arms still around her neck.

"Never mind…" Inuyasha must have been using the uniform as a comfort object. Her smell undoubtedly lingered on it, like it had on Shippo's stuffed fox.

"It's way past your bedtime, Shippo," Inuyasha said. "I'll take care of Kagome. Why don't you go back to sleep?"

Shippo shook his head and clung to Kagome more tightly. "I'm staying with Kagome."

"Kagome probably wants to get home and put some of her medicine on her leg," Inuyasha said softly.

"It's really not as bad as it looks. I can stay here tonight."

He stared down at her. "You sure?"

She shrugged. "Well…as long as you don't mind."

"Of course I don't mind…" His words trailed off as Shippo began to chatter excitedly.

"…and you can sleep with me Kagome, and in the morning Inuyasha will cook us something—did you know Inuyasha can cook, because he cooks really, really good and…"

"Shippo, you're going to overwhelm her," Inuyasha said wearily.

"Tell you what," Kagome said, looking at Shippo as she said it, but watching for Inuyasha's reaction out of the corner of her eye. "Why don't we all sleep out here tonight?"

"Yeah! It'll be like a…a…what did you call those things again when lots of kids sleep in the same house?"

"Slumber party?"

"Yeah, those!"

"Alright, alright. Get your futon and drag it out here," Inuyasha ordered Shippo. Shippo half-bounced, half-skipped to his room. Kagome followed Inuyasha into the other room. Inuyasha didn't get his futon right away, but reached for a box he had hidden under the tatami matting. A secret compartment. Nice.

"Here's your uniform." He pulled it out of the box and handed it to her.

"Thanks." She set the clothes down. Inuyasha turned his back to her and she stripped off the ruined dress. "Where are Miroku and Sango?"

"They left," he said. "Sango has pretty much given up on avenging her family. She's returned to her old profession. Miroku…well, I don't know what he's doing. I don't think he can fight Naraku alone, so I guess he'll be looking for someone to bear his child."

"It would be a lot easier if they went together." She slipped her shirt over her head. "Sango could probably solve Miroku's heir problem."

"Sango can hardly stand Miroku. And to him, she's just another pretty face."

"Not true." Kagome pulled on her skirt. "Sango likes Miroku, but she won't admit it to him because she feels like he _does_ think she's just a pretty face. She thinks he could never be faithful to her."

"She's probably right."

"No. Sango's not the only one who has told me what's on her mind."

Inuyasha resisted the urge to look over his shoulder to face her while they were talking. "You've spoken to Miroku as well?" It didn't surprise him at all that she would speak with Sango—they were both women, and women liked to talk about such things. But as for Miroku…well, that was somehow surprising.

"You can turn around if you want. I'm done now." When he turned, she continued. "Miroku admitted to me that he had feelings for her, but he feels like he's not good enough for her. He doesn't think she feels anything for him whatsoever."

"Why didn't you tell him that Sango cared about him? Or it would even make sense for you to tell Sango what he told you. But they're not together."

"I'm a friend, not a matchmaker. Besides, both of them told me those things with a promise that it would never be repeated to anyone."

He shook his head, obviously confused. "But it would solve the problem…they could be together."

"If they can't solve the problem themselves, it probably won't work out anyway. One of them has to confess…" She stopped. Inuyasha was standing closer than she had realized.

"It doesn't always work like that, though," Inuaysha said softly.

_He wasn't talking about Miroku and Sango, _Kagome realized. "Tell me again."

Suspicion grew in his face. "Why?"

"Just tell me."

He took a step closer, tilting her chin up so she looked into his eyes. He was close enough that Kagome would barely need to lean in to kiss him. "I love you," he said.

"I've loved you for a long time now."

"You—" He broke off, starting to pull back. "Are you just saying that because—"

"No, I mean it, Inuyasha." She drew him back to her with a gentle hand on his cheek. "When I went back to my era, there was this boy. His name was Houjo. He was intelligent, nice, friendly, outgoing…the perfect guy. Every girl at school was in love with him, and he asked me out on a date."

"Date?" Inuyasha repeated.

"It's like…well, you don't have a word in this time that means quite the same thing. To go on dates is sort of the same thing as courting. Except it's less formal. On dates, you do things like go to movies, go to dinner, go to dance clubs…and Houjo took me to dinner and a movie. He liked me, but I couldn't return the feelings. I told him so when he took me back home. And I realized I couldn't love him because I was in love with you."

"What happened?"

"I came back here."

"For Shippo."

"I didn't think you'd ever want me back," she admitted. "I thought too much had happened and that you really only wanted me to help you find the Shikon shards."

"Of course I wanted you back," Inuyasha said in disbelief. "I—"

"I'm ready!" Shippo bounced into the room. "Inuyasha, why haven't you brought your futon in?" he asked.

"Uh…" Inuyasha seemed caught off-guard. "I'll be right out, Shippo."

"Okay!" Shippo skipped back out.

Inuyasha reached down for the futon, then looked up at Kagome. "Sorry about your dress. It…looked really good on you."

She felt her cheeks flush again. "I can buy another one."

"Will you wear it next time you visit us?"

"If you want me to."

"I do."

"Gu-uys! Come on!" Shippo whined from the other room.

Inuyasha lifted the futon. "I'm coming, you impatient little weasel."

"I'm a fox!" came the giggling reply.

Kagome caught Inuyasha's arm before he walked through the door. He turned to face her and she gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Thanks…for keeping Sesshomaru from killing me."

Inuyasha's gaze lingered on her as she walked past him, out the door and into the other room. A slow smile worked its way onto his face.

Maybe she meant it.

Okay, I realize it was kind of lame how it went from fight to "slumber party," as I put it, but you've got to realize everyone was tired as hell and there was no way they could take on Sessho and Kikyo without some well-deserved rest. Anyway, I wanted to write in some fluff, but don't get to thinking all the issues are resolved between Inuyasha and Kagome. Besides, they have Shippo interrupting what could have been a tender moment. LOL

More chapters coming…Inuyasha has to return to being a hanyou, right? What will Kagome decide to do in regards to the Feudal Era and her school life? (Although it's almost summer…she could spend most of the summer in the Feudal Era if she needed to.) Plus, will something develop between Kikyo and Sesshomaru? (Should it? I rather like the idea; opinions please…) And will Inuyasha regain the Tetsusaiga?

Find out on the next episode of…Demotion! dramatic music

…God, I need to get a life…

On that note, I have been considering a sequel. It would be mostly Inuyasha/Kagome with some Miroku/Sango. Should I write it? I have tons of ideas ready, but I haven't made up my mind yet.

Oh, yes. I nearly forgot. My chapterly threat. IF YOU DO NOT REIVEW, I WILL FORCE YOU TO WATCH SIX HOURS STRAIGHT OF POKEMON AND WATCH YOUR EYES BURN OUT AND YOUR BRAIN TURN TO JELLY. So review…or else…


	14. Broken Hearts

A/N: Okay, I didn't get many comments on it, so I've decided for you: Operation Sequel is a go. I got a great idea the other day when I was looking for a Mir/San angst fic with a certain plotline—one I had thought would be common. (No giving it away yet!) And anyway, I couldn't find one. I searched for an hour cuz I was sick and had nothing better to do, so anyway, I decided to write one as a sequel to this. Trust me, it's a GREAT idea, and I'm surprised no one has thought it up before. Or I haven't found one anyway. So I'll be doing a Mir/San fic that takes place after the events in Demotion. I realize Miroku and Sango haven't played a big role yet in this story, but they'll be coming back in, I swear. So probably what I'll be doing is making a Mir/San sequel and a Kag/Inu sequel to Demotion…I might have to put it off until I'm done with my GW fanfic, Boulevard of Broken Dreams.

Ooh, I went to an anime convention (can't say where; don't want anyone to know where I live), and I got the CUTEST little pins! They're like these little 1-inch-tall chibi action figures that you can wear as pins. I got an Inuyasha and a Kagome. Inuyasha is scowling and has his hand on the Tetsusaiga, and Kagome is smiling, holding a book in one arm, and skipping. They're so cute; everyone tried to steal them from me. There were also Miroku, Sango, and Shippo pins…I didn't see Sesshomaru or Kikyo. I don't know if I would have bought Kikyo, but I would buy Sesshomaru without a doubt. I'm going to make them into earrings, and I'll order the Miroku, Sango, and Shippo ones. I have my ears double-pierced and my cartilage is pierced on one ear, so I plan to wear the whole Inuyasha gang on my ears. When I told my friend who went with me to the convention, she shook her head and called me a nerd…grr…I swear to God I'm not a nerd! Nerds don't have lives and spend all their time watching anime, watching sci-fi movies, reading fantasy books, buying Star Wars and anime merchendise, and reading/writing fanfiction on the Interet! I, on the other hand, spare time to eat and sleep. -

BTW, Silver Moon, you nearly overloaded my e-mail box with reviews the other day. LOL. You must've been really bored. But I'm honored. I enjoyed the reviews a lot.

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Broken Hearts

Kagome woke up to find her fingers were interlaced with Inuyasha's. Sunlight shone on his face through a gap in the door, and she saw his hair was still black. Shippo was resting between them under the shared covers.

She felt her eyes burn. Was this what she had always wanted? A husband who she loved and a child she adored? But Inuyasha hadn't made any proposals of marriage. They'd only confessed their feelings for one another. The kiss they had shared the previous night wasn't very romantic. Against her will, Kagome sensed herself wanting to wake him with another kiss, try to make it deeper…

No. Things had gotten out of hand so fast, and it would be a while before they got sorted out. Plus, Shippo would probably keep interrupting any tender moments between them, however unintentionally.

Inuyasha stirred beside her. His blue-violet eyes opened, and he was awake. "G'morning," he said groggily.

"It's three in the afternoon," Kagome corrected him, pointing to her watch.

"Three…wait. Aren't you supposed to be at your school?" he said, straightening up. Shippo's eyelids fluttered beside him, but the kitsune didn't wake up.

"Yesterday was Friday, so today's Saturday. And we don't have schools on Saturday or Sunday," Kagome explained.

"So you can stay for the weekend—if you want, right?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes." She hesitated. "Listen…I only have a week of school left before summer vacation."

"And you don't have school in summer vacation."

"Right. I could try to spend most of the summer here…you know, find the Shikon shards." She sat up as well, and Shippo groaned in protest, but still didn't awaken. "I'll need to go home and re-supply every so often, but we can get Tetsusaiga back."

"And kill Kikyo," Inuyasha added. Her surprise must have shown on her face, because his next words were a little defensive. "What? You don't agree with me that she's too dangerous left alive? And besides that, you were right about her. She's dead. Dead people should stay dead."

"What about your kiss?" she said, almost accusingly.

"You must have figured it out last night…but I was lonely. I was pretending she was you. I realize it doesn't seem like a very good excuse, but…"

"She and I look alike. We smell alike."

"Just as long as you don't _act_ alike, I'm fine with that," he said, only half-joking.

Kagome slipped out from under the covers and stood up. "I'll be right back."

"Where are you going?" An edge of alarm crept into his voice. He made no move to hold her back, but the fear in his eyes made it obvious that he was afraid she wouldn't return to him.

"I'm getting supplies from home," Kagome replied. "We're going to need them if we want to find Sango and Miroku."

"Find them?" Inuyasha repeated. "How can we find them if we don't know where to start looking?"

"I don't know, Inuyasha," Kagome sighed. "Maybe we should start looking for them in the most obvious places…Sango would be going back to her old village occasionally, right? She'll want to make reparations to the Hiraikotsu and maybe pray more for the souls of her family and friends."

"Miroku would likely be more difficult to find," Inuyasha muttered. "He's probably back to trying to seduce women and talk villagers out of their money and food."

"Wouldn't surprise me."

* * *

At that exact moment, Miroku was doing precisely what Kagome and Inuyasha had suspected. He gave the same old disarming smile to every woman who passed, impressing the villagers with his agreement to ward of the "demons." But deep down, Miroku's heart was not in it. 

For some reason even he didn't understand, he didn't ask any woman to bear his child.

Miroku was given free food and shelter by the villagers, but he was not happy. Nothing seemed to make him happy ever since Kagome left. When Kagome left, there was no chance of defeating Naraku…and while he would have happily stayed with Sango and Inuyasha, as much of a jerk as Inuyasha was, Sango didn't want to stay without Kagome.

And Miroku hadn't wanted to stay without Sango.

So here he was, in a reasonably comfortable hut on a futon, staring up at the ceiling and wishing he were out in the forests with Inuyasha, Kagome, and Sango, staring at the stars in the sky overhead.

Miroku rolled over on his side and closed his eyes, but he was not tired. Just lonely. He hadn't realized how lonely his life had been before he met up with the others. And now that he knew…

_Ignorance is bliss,_ Miroku thought. He had been content thinking he wasn't lonely his whole life. But when he experienced the truth of friendship, and it was taken away from him, he found himself feeling every bit as miserable as he had expected he wouldn't be. He missed Inuyasha, Kagome, Kaede, even Shippo…but most of all, he missed Sango.

_It was a waste of time anyway,_ he decided as he rolled onto his other side. _After all, I always knew it was too good to be true, that it would never last…_ Sango's image appeared in his mind, a wide smile on her beautiful face. He closed his eyes against, but it only seemed to deepen the pain. _…that it would never work out._

He prayed for a deep, peaceful sleep with dreams of Sango.

* * *

In her old village, the only noise was Sango's sobs. Kilala was sitting on her lap, apparently trying to comfort her, but Sango didn't acknowledge the cat-demon's presence. "I shouldn't have left," she wept. "I knew I would miss him! I knew I would miss him this way!" 

Her cries were not answered by another voice. Kilala gave a soft mew. Sniffing, Sango finally picked her up and stroked her fur. "He's probably already forgotten my name," she said bitterly. "Right now he's probably laying with another girl who agreed to bear his child. He doesn't even care about what happens to me."

Kilala rubbed her face against Sango's cheek. Sango forced a laugh. "Thanks, Kilala," she whisepred. "I always knew Miroku and I were wrong for each other. I couldn't even trust him to leave the house without asking another woman to have his children."

Hugging Kilala to her chest, Sango laid back on her futon, and silently prayed never to think of Miroku again.

* * *

Okay, I think that's it for this chapter. Sorry if it was too short. IF YOU DO NOT REVIEW, I WILL GIVE YOU A PUNISMENT FAR WORSE THAN DEATH WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT INVOLVE THROWING SNOWBALLS WITH SMALL BOMBS IMPLANTED IN THEM! 


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